When Marvel Studios announced the third entry of the Ant-Man and the Wasp franchise, we assumed it would see the return of the original cast. Yet, the moment Kang the Conqueror joined as its main antagonist, it changed everything. It opened up the question if minor characters would get included or if the story takes a very unique direction moving forward. Well, Judy Greer, who plays Scott Lang’s ex-wife, confirmed she isn’t involved with the film.
In an interview with ScreenRant, she shared her excitement to potentially join Quantumania. She hasn’t been contacted to join the production, which normally you would assume they’d make any dealings ahead of the production start. There’s always a chance they might invite her to film scenes at a later time.
I haven’t been told anything so I guess I’m not in it. I’m actually not, I’m terrible at [keeping secrets]. I always tell people like, ‘Just don’t tell me if you don’t want me to tell everyone.’ No one has contacted me and feel free to print that, that I’m very available and very willing to go.
Judy Greer
The recasting of Cassie Lang is still a big mystery. Kathryn Newton is taking over the role of Emma Fuhrmann, who tackled the role in Avengers: Endgame. If her change is integral to the plot, they might want to also have her mother react to her daughter looking quite different. Of course, there’s still the chance the recasting won’t tie into the story, but it would make for a curious connection to the multiverse.
Here’s an interesting little tidbit. On the website StarNow, which includes information on actors and casting listings for major brands including Netflix and Disney, actress Vivian Tung includes a rather curious tidbit in her credits and experience. In her 2021 list, she highlights that she played a featured extra on the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder film. What stands out is that she’s listed as a Valkyrie. Tessa Thompson‘s Brunnhilde is the last known living member of the elite Asgardian warriors. So, this listing could hint at their return in the upcoming sequel.
There are many ways to bring back the Valkyries. Either we get to explore Brunnhilde’s past that was hinted at before they were killed by Hela, or she reestablished a new generation after taking over New Asgard. She was given the title to rule over the remnants that are living on Earth. So, it wouldn’t be too surprising that under her rule she’d empower young Asgardian women to start a new generation of warriors.
It’s great to dive deep into this part of the MCU’s mythos, as we only got a glimpse of it in Ragnarok. There’s also the fact that they may build upon the reestablishment of the Valkyries through the reintroduction of Jane Foster. In the comics, she ends up becoming a Valkyrie after giving up the mantle of Thor. Perhaps, there’s a future for Natalie Portman‘s character beyond the fourth entry in the franchise as she takes on a new persona. Of course, it’s still speculation and we’ll see what kind of role they might have once the film gets released next May.
Here’s a curious piece of news, as The Direct has exclusively shared the news that the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film may feature the return of Ultron’s sentry bots in live-action. They do not go into detail if we’ll also see the return of the one controlling them, but it seems to potentially hint at a connection between the film and Disney+’s current What If…? series. They only state it’ll be from one of the universe’s Strange visits, but the natural connection would be with the recent reveal of an Infinity Stone-wielding Ultron who is taking on the Watcher.
The inclusion of Ultron Sentries could be a general short diversion. There’s a chance that the upcoming What If…? finale might tie into the upcoming film. So, it could further develop the franchise’s concept o the multiverse and also opens up the possibility that others appear. There was a rumor that Captain Carter and the corrupted version of Strange may appear in the sequel. So, more elements may manage to find a way into the upcoming film.
Of course, these are still rumors. The concept of the multiverse leaves almost any possible approach. We’ll see what the future has in store, especially if they continue building upon it. There’s a good possibility that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may join in the multiversal fun. The arrival of Kang the Conqueror could lead to another multiversal war. As such, we might see a lot more of Ultron in the future.
The following article contains spoilers on the film’s plot, ending, andpost-credit sequence. If you still haven’t seen the film, only continue at your own risk.
Perhaps the greatest strength of Venom: Let There Be Carnage is its willingness to embrace the absurd. A symbiote makes pancakes, a man licks a spider, and a combination of the two bellows the film’s title before credits roll. It’s pure scripted chaos, mixed with appropriately goofy performances from stars Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson. This is why the film’s choice to not fully embrace its villain is so baffling.
Carnage has long been one of Marvel’s meanest rogues, and that doesn’t change here. The red symbiote is portrayed as giddily sadistic and all-out ill-willed as one would hope. Yet, something about the character feels less imposing than it should. The lack of R-rated violence, which some fans have wondered about since the announcement, is an easy first guess when it comes to pinpointing the problem. Yet, it’s not a loss for blood that throws Carnage out of whack. It’s something much deeper than that, in connection to the film’s central themes. It’s the relationship between Carnage and host buddy Cletus Kasady that truly serves to incapacitate the first live-action adaptation of Venom’s greatest adversary.
It feels ridiculous to say, but Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a relationship drama first and comic book action second. This is not an issue with the movie, which actually uses the love and bond between protagonists Eddie Brock and Venom to its advantage on many occasions. Unfortunately, where the story knows exactly how to play to Eddie and Venom’s strengths, it fails to understand what makes Cletus and Carnage so unique. Whereas the Venom symbiote has spent much of it’s existence bouncing from host to host, viewing itself as a separate entity from the bodies it inhabits, the Carnage symbiote was born to one man and one man alone. Unlike his father, Carnage has never been a “we” guy, and neither has Cletus.
While Carnage’s erratic fighting style and lust for death are a major part of what makes him dangerous, it’s his absolute unified bond with Cletus that truly makes him so terrifying. Their perfect relationship is the chainmail protecting an already pretty-dang-powerful set of armor. In an attempt to make their antagonist more susceptible to defeat, and perhaps even a little more relatable to audiences, the film stripped the character of his hallmark and turned “them” into an emotionally cruel couple. This works to a degree for the movie’s lovesick, abused version of serial killer Kasady, but it certainly weakens the screen presence of a character that should have been among Sony’s biggest bad guys.
The link between Cletus and Carnage could have been used as a dark foil for Eddie and Venom. A sickened, Terminator-esque peek into what a symbiote can do when left unchecked or even urged on, by its host. The Carnage symbiote’s parricidal feelings towards Venom are hinted at but left unexplored, despite the overwhelming potential of balancing that hateful association with the loving parallel Venom finds in Eddie. All of this is thrown to the wayside so that Cletus may have a love interest of his own, acting as a mirrored reflection of Eddie’s own relationships and an easy out for concluding character arcs in the third act.
It’s almost shameful that the film chooses to end Carnage’s story so soon after it begins, with both host and symbiote receiving an unceremonious death at the hands of their progenitor and rival. At the very least, Let There Be Carnage had the potential to serve as a functional origin story for Carnage, with his more threatening aspects set to be fleshed out in a later franchise installment. Nevertheless, the multiversal implications of the film’s post-credits scene offer hope at another shot with Carnage down the line. It’s possible that audiences will one day see the character in all his merciless glory, but until then, we’re left with a take on Carnage that feels like a decent impression at best.
The multiverse is an unwieldy storytelling device with potential positive and negative impacts. For example, meeting alternate variations of favorite characters has the potential to undermine earlier stories. However, it could also potentially provide emotional flourish to stories that haven’t been possible previously. Some fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s consistency are concerned about how the multiverse could fray the cohesion of the MCU. The multiversal elements of Loki and What If…? have shown us hints of how the multiverse stories we might be seeing in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness can be kept tight and concise.
Loki’s head writer Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron have both spoken in multipleinterviews about the themes of their series. Loki spends much of the season up against the bureaucratic order of the TVA. He also finds himself grappling with his identity in the face of Loki variants from alternative universes. Order versus chaos. Self versus selves. The structure of these debates brought up in the show also show another theme Waldron and Herron have spoken about, in the gray space between villainy and heroism. It’s clear that these themes are present even without confirmation from interviews because of how tightly woven into the narrative action they are.
On the surface, an anthology show like What If…? shouldn’t necessarily have a narrative or thematic coherence between episodes. Yet we have seen enough to know we are getting a conclusion to some of the previous episodes in the finale. In this context, should there be a thematic reverberation between the heroes of each episode? It’s not easy to point one out. Loki’s themes are much tighter as almost every scene has a thematic resonance. An anthology show doesn’t need coherent themes but where there is a continuing story, What If…? is perhaps missing something thematic to bring the season together.
So perhaps if Spider-Man: No Way Home can use the multiverse to weave themes tightly, it can produce an impactful story regardless of multiversal incursions. Much of the trailer is connected to Spidey’s identity as Peter Parker. The public release of that information and Peter’s going to Doctor Strange to have it erased from public consciousness. It’s clear that they “tampered with the stability of [the] space-time” continuum when performing the spell. The full impact remains to be seen but it is easy to see how themes of identity, responsibility, and fate can be tied to this spell gone wrong and possible multiversal variants. It remains to be seen how tightly woven those themes might be into the story.
So can we spot the themes for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as clearly and easily? Given Wanda Maximoff was last seen studying The Darkhold, also known as The Book of the Damned, it stands that she might face some corrupting forces. To some extent, this is a theme that can be extended from Doctor Strange as Kaecilius became corrupted by Dormammu. Corruption, alongside the fraying of the multiverse which Strange admits he knows “frighteningly little” in the No Way Home trailer, can also point in the direction of balance as a theme. How will Strange weigh up the dilemmas of the incursive multiverse? In a meta-sense, if the film can get that thematic balance right, then the rumoured cameos won’t seem as uncoordinated as some fans fear they might be.
Parenthood and family are themes that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could manifest. With Kathryn Newton taking on the role as Cassie Lang it seems as though she might play more of a role with the heroes, with Scott, Hope, Janet, and Hank having to figure out parental decisions related to that. It’s not immediately obvious how Jonathan Majors’ Kang will connect to that, though being a citizen of the future, it’s possible an ancestor of his might be involved in the story. How they will connect the multiversal elements to the existing Ant-Man themes will be the test for how tight of a story we’ll be getting.
Beyond the second seasons of Loki and What If…? there are no major clues about what other Marvel Studios projects the multiverse incur upon. It will be interesting to see whether Loki can keep up its thematic resonance during its sophomore season. Similarly What If…? could either fully embrace the anthology format or increase the thematic and narrative continuity between the episodes. The multiverse certainly won’t be vanishing so other characters like Doctor Strange, Wanda Maximoff, and Ant-Man might still have to contend with it. Wherever it does emerge though, using the multiverse concisely and closely connected to the themes of the project seems like it will be a successful approach.
After being projected to debut to a nice $60M domestic box office, Venom: Let There Be Carnage absolutely blew the doors off that number with a $90M open, exceeding projections by 50%. The sequel to the 2018 film started off with a great take at Thursday night’s previews and didn’t slow down one bit and knocked Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings out of the top spot after 4 strong weeks.
BOX OFFICE: October comes roaring in! #VenomLetThereBeCarnage tops the weekend w/ $90M! That is… – The biggest opening weekend for a film in the U.S. since 2019 -Bigger than the first #Venom ($80M) – The 2nd biggest opening ever in October (behind JOKER $96M) pic.twitter.com/5hMdSsSmq0
As noted above, Let There Be Carnage outdid its predecessor by $10M and did so in the midst of a pandemic. Speaking of the pandemic, the $90M also marks the highest grossing opening weekend of a film during the ongoing health crisis.
The first film was a hit with fans, less so with critics, so it’s no surprise to see audiences out in droves to see it, especially with it getting higher marks than its predecessor by many of those same talking heads. The film has also generated substantial buzz around its mid-credit scene which appears to bring Tom Hardy’s Venom to the MCU and face-to-face (kind of) with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Given the huge success the film had, it’s likely the studio won’t wait long to greenlight a third film and make good on the promise of that scene.
In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton and writer David Callaham gave some insight into the development process of the film. According to Callaham, some of the early ideas pitched were “too crazy” to make it into the final cut.
We were doing some pretty weird stuff at the beginning before (executive producer) Jonathan (Schwartz) kind of pulled us back. He knows the world. I think Destin and I, when we got there, were like ‘We can do anything! It’s Marvel!’ No idea was off the table to begin with, to be honest, which was really cool of Marvel, to let the team explore a little bit, and then eventually they tell you ‘You can’t do that, that’s too crazy’ or ‘We’re doing that somewhere else, but we can’t talk about it,’ that kind of thing.
One such potentially crazy idea, according to Cretton, would have seen Shang-Chi leave a younger brother behind, rather than Xialing, who would eventually turn into some sort of monster.
I mean, at one point, there was a moment when Shang-Chi had a brother that was left behind with Dad rather than a sister. That was early on. And there’s inspirations from the comics for that character. And I think the brother, like, turned into a monster at one point.
As Cretton says, Shang-Chi did have both a half-brother and an adopted brother in the comics, both of whom ultimately did battle with the Master of Kung-Fu. With neither Moving Shadow nor M’Nai, the aforementioned brothers, showing up in the first film, it’s possible that they could have put a pin in the idea and bring the character back in the sequel, seeking to challenge Shang-Chi and or Xialing for control of the Ten Rings (both the objects and the organization.
It’s always interesting to listen to the creatives behind the projects talk about the developments behind the scenes. Often times, ideas left out of the original films grow over time and find their way into sequels or additional projects; additionally, as Callaham pointed out, they creators sometimes find out that their ideas are already in the pipeline for other projects. Either way, it’s a good idea to file this one away in your memory banks for later as it has the potential to pop up down the line.
Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is now in theaters and will begin streaming on Disney Plus November 12th.
Even as early predictions had the sequel to the 2018 surprise hit, Venom, eyeing around $60M+ at the domestic Box Office. It’s once again looking like it might beat expectations. It entered its Thursday previews with $11.6M, which put it at the second-best preview opening for any film of 2021. It’s only trailing behind Black Widow currently. Now, it seems that Venom: Let There Be Carnage is doing even better than initially expected. On Twitter @meJat32, who has built up a reputation for his box office analysis and insight, shared that the film is locking in at $85M, but could potentially even surpass $90M at its current momentum. No matter where it lands, it’s poised to surpass the original’s $80M after making approximately $37M on Friday.
US actuals are coming in around $36.5-37M opening day for #Venom2. Strong pre-sales for SAT, should easily go over $85M for weekend, if you are an optimist, $90M can't be ruled out. pic.twitter.com/g6KnbFWly5
It’s a good sign that cinema is recovering, as each new cinematic release is doing better than the previous one. Still, these are purely based on the numbers it gained on Friday. We’ve seen films dip quite hard once Saturday rolled around. Shang-Chi had tremendous legs when it was released and currently even surpassed Black Widow with the first $200M+ domestic cume.
Of course, the second weekend will show if Venom: Let There Be Carnage has any legs to compete with other entries in the box office. Either way, it adds hope that Eternals, and the much-anticipated release of Spider-Man: No Way Home could also become big earners once they release. Right now, it’s looking good for the overall box office making a quick recovery and we’ll return to some normalcy in 2022.
There are still many mysteries surrounding the upcoming Eternals film. We have no idea how it will build upon the franchise and what exactly it may hold for its future. Yet, the biggest question mark surrounds the curious case of one Dane Whitman. Kit Harington will bring the classic Marvel character known as Black Knight to life in the film. A recent new merch leak may have hinted there’s more to his character.
In the comics, the various version of the Black Knight has a Raven-inspired emblem on their chest. A recent reveal of an accessory box to tie in with the film’s release includes items replicated from the film. Among them is a ring featuring the previously-mentioned Raven symbol. It may imply that Whitman is part of a long line that held the title of Black Knight. A close look at the ring was shared by @BestofKitH on Twitter.
He’s known for wielding the Ebony Blade in the comics, but the trailers seem to hint at him being a normal man wrapped up in the life of the Eternals in the modern-day. So, there’s a chance that it is passed on from generation to generation. Perhaps an ancestor crossed paths with the Eternals and he was doomed to repeat it. They wouldn’t cast someone like Harington just to have a bit role. So, Marvel Studios definitely has plans for the actor moving forward. It also would be interesting to have him wield a sword alongside the Avengers.
If you haven’t seen the film yet and want to experience it yourself without any major spoilers, here’s a final warning before continuing.
In the post-credit sequence, we get a confirmation that Venom might eventually meet up with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Of course, it’s still just a tease for now but does open the door for a third entry to tackle a crossover, especially if it turns out successful. Director Andy Serkis did discuss the post-credit sequence and how it came into play much later, while also hinting that Spider-Man originally had a bigger role earlier on in the development of the script.
[The mid-credits scene was] 100 percent in flux, yeah. It couldn’t have been more in flux-y if you tried. Yeah, of course, it was something that they talked about from before I even came on to the movie. There were moments where he [Spider-Man] was going to be in the story, potentially, and then he wasn’t. But no, we decided that we wanted to really examine the Venom-verse first. So as we were going through principal photography, the inevitable discussions had to be had, but it wasn’t until very, very late on that we reached the precise notion of the teaser that we wanted to lay in there.Andy Serkis
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