Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Movies

  • Theory Thursday: Victor Timely’s Time Has Come

    Theory Thursday: Victor Timely’s Time Has Come

    New information from insider Daniel RPK seems to have indicated that a Variant of Kang known as Victor Timely is set to make his debut in the MCU in 2023. Via his Patreon, Daniel RPK shared that Loki Season 2 will feature another new Variant of Jonathan Majors‘ Kang who is “an inventor from the past wanting to buy stuff from people to affect the future.” Though RPK added he could not confirm that this Variant will be Victor Timely, speculation about the character has revolved around that identity. This isn’t the first time the character’s name has come up, either, given that the insider teased a mention or appearance of Timely in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Who is Victor Timely and why are so many fans sure this is him? Fascinating questions to which there are probably multiple great answers, to be sure, and while we can’t provide the correct answer we can theorize!

    Who is Victor Timely?

    Interior art from Avengers Annual #21(1992)

    Kang is a complex villain and the convoluted and continuous retconning of the character in the pages of Marvel Comics over the years has made a true understanding of him daunting. In one respect, that’s actually worked in the favor of those penning whatever the latest adventures of the character are because they can be as mysterious and crazy as they want given pretty much nobody knows exactly what went on with Kang to begin with and when time travel is involved, anything is possible…and that is the essence of Victor Timely.

    Victor Timely’s origins come from a retcon to Kang’s story first published in 1992’s Avengers Annual #21. The issue tells the story of what happened following Kang’s first defeat at the hands of the Avengers. Kang retreated to the past, where under the alias of Victor Timely he founded a city and rose to fame as an inventor and industrialist. His work as Timely quietly shaped the century while he built a fantastical and quasi-temporal base of operations, Chronopolis, from where he could access timelines that other versions of himself had conquered. On Earth, Timely worked from a location–complete with a door that transported him to Chronopolis–and his advancements in technology ultimately put his products into every robot, cyborg and computer, allowing him full access to nearly every piece of technology on the Earth.

    Why Does Victor Timely Make Sense for the MCU at This Point in Time?

    The short answer is time. One of the reasons fans debated whether or not Kang would make for an appropriate villain in the MCU is the convoluted nature of the character’s comic book past. Marvel Studios seems to have addressed that fairly well in Season 1 of Loki by indicating that He Who Remains was the victor of a Multiversal War among Kangs who has since spent his time pruning timelines and making sure that the Multiverse doesn’t come back into existence and bring Kang Variants back with it. When Sylvie killed He Who Remains, it set loose a chain reaction of events (the repercussions of which will be explored in Season 2 of Loki) including the emergence of an infinite number of Kangs. It’s all pretty confusing, but by the time Loki Season 2 comes around, the Kang Variant that we are theorizing to be Victor Timely will have already lived a life full of experiences and opportunities we are unlikely to see in full on screen.

    By following the rules of time travel and the Multiverse as they are currently understood, should a Kang Variant travel back in time (as Timely did in the comics), it would create a Nexus Event and a new timeline. The new future for the Variant, which takes place in the past, can’t change what happened on his old timeline, but it certainly can be conquered in the new timeline. So the Avengers may have beaten that Kang, but can they beat this Kang? And what is this Kang up to? The comics–and an Easter egg from Season 1 of Loki–could give some hints.

      While the Variant of Kang set to appear in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror, is stuck in the Quantum Realm, he also seems to have lived quite a life already and is well aware of his multiple pasts. It’s possible that this Variant is an older version of Victor Timely. In the comics, Timely traveled time to get a head start on the Avengers by cornering the market on technology while also secretly constructing Chronopolis from where he could access all timelines. The fantastical city within the Quantum Realm that’s been seen in promotional material for Quantumania is almost certainly Chronopolis and Kang almost certainly used it for its intended purposes for a long, long time before being trapped there. It’s possible that the Victor Timely Variant of Kang set to appear in Loki Season 2 is there, in part, to explain to audiences how Chronopolis came to be and to fill in the gaps about who the Conqueror that fans meet in Quantumania is.

      If that half of Timely’s story could be adapted from the comics, the other half could be adapted just as easily. RPK’s information suggests that Timely is an inventor in the past and in a very Back to the Future twist (that’s Kevin Feige‘s favorite movie, by the way) is looking to impact the future. That future, a future in which Timely’s technology, not Tony Stark’s, is what drives the world may have already been glimpsed in the Void in Season 1 of Loki. The fifth episode of Season 1, entitled “Journey into Mystery”, revealed an alternate version of Stark Tower, Qeng Tower, had been cast into the Void following the reset of one timeline. That timeline would have been reset at the behest of He Who Remains, whose main purpose was to keep other Variants of himself from taking control. In the comics, Timely continued on by feigning death and “handing down” the company from Victor Timely to Jr. to III. It wouldn’t take much imagination to change it up in the MCU and have him “sell” the company to a new owner who might rename it Qeng.

      So why is Victor Timely right for the MCU right now? Telling his story in Season 2 of Loki after meeting him in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania not only tells the past of the Conqueror trapped in Chronopolis but also why he’ll be a threat to the Avengers in the future as the man behind Qeng Enterprises.

      What is Qenq Enterprises?

      Qeng Enterprises appeared in just a couple of comics during Mark Waid‘s 2015 Avengers: Ultron Forever but could be set to play a much larger role in the MCU. In the comics, Qeng Enterprises was the Earth-bound base from which Kang planned to launch his New Qeng Dynasty. In the MCU, it could be the equivalent of the point from which he accessed Chronopolis in the comics and the temporal location that the Avengers choose to target him as he wages his Multiversal War. In Loki, the tower has clearly taken heavy damage and given the crazy time-traveling shenanigans in play now, fans may already have seen the outcome of the Avengers’ war on the Kang Dynasty in a blink-and-you-miss-it Easter egg.

      Why is Kang Stuck in Chronopolis?

      How does a man like Kang, who has conquered so many timelines become trapped in a city of his own design? in the comics, the ability to move discretely between timelines was powered by an object of unfathomable chronal power: the Forever Crystal. More than one theory has discussed the possibility that the Forever Crystal has already been seen in the promotional footage for Quantumania and that it is the McGuffin of that film. If Scott Lang retrieves the Forever Crystal for Kang, he could put into motion the events of The Kang Dynasty.

      Summary

      The Kang Variant known as Victor Timely sets up shop on Earth, shapes a century or two through his own technology while building and then using Chronopolis to conquer other timelines. At some point in his journey, he becomes trapped in the Quantum Realm. Once he escapes, hehas enough power and/or weapons at his disposal to take on the Avengers, who had previously defeated him, he launces his attack from Qenq Tower. Looping in a previous theory, the Avengers have acquired powerful weapons (potentially created by other Kang Variants) and defeat Kang. What impact could an assault on Qeng Tower and or Chronopolis have on the Multiverse? That’s a theory for another day.

    • New Rumor Exposes the True Big Bad of Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’

      New Rumor Exposes the True Big Bad of Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’

      Since her first appearance in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been recruiting some folks who are comfortable living in a moral grey area. Following a big reveal at D23 Expo 2022, audiences learned that Val’s full team will come together in the 2024 film Thunderbolts. Since the concept art of the team was unveiled, speculation about potential missing members of the squad began and recent rumors seemed to confirm that at least one member was withheld: Robert Reynolds, aka, Sentry. While the super-powered Sentry seems like he might be a bit too wack to fit into the MCU, there are some changes that could be made to make him fit the rumored “evil Superman” bill. However, despite having a plethora of problems, Sentry has never truly been a bad guy–at least not on his own merit–and a new rumor suggests that might not be the case in Thunderbolts either.

      According to Twitter user CanWeGetSomeToast, while it’ll be Sentry going into battle against the Thunderbolts, Val’s the one pulling his strings.

      https://twitter.com/CanWeGetToast/status/1617666429280751616?s=20&t=z6_4rmUxVwdstRv-YmCjwg

      The user suggests that Val will be behind whatever new Super Solider project is responsible for (presumably) turning Reynolds into Sentry and somehow making him her puppet. Additional rumors suggest that Sentry begins Thunderbolts as a member of the team before turning on his allies. From the sounds of it, whatever manner or method of control Val will have over Sentry won’t last and the Thunderbolts will have to come together to either take him down or get cooked.

      Sentry being under the thumb of a manipulative and duplicitous leader isn’t a new concept. During the Siege era from the pages of Marvel Comics, Sentry finds himself a member of Norman Osborn’s team of Avengers (Dark Avengers) and is used by Osborn as a one-man hit squad before being taken out by Thor. With Thor not currently expected to appear in Thunderbolts, one must wonder who will stop Sentry.

    • Jeff Lovesness Explains Why Kang Poses a Greater Threat than Thanos

      Jeff Lovesness Explains Why Kang Poses a Greater Threat than Thanos

      Following in the footsteps of the last Avengers film, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, can’t be an easy task; however, it’s one that Rick and Morty and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania scribe Jeff Loveness seems to have embraced. Loveness’ task on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was simple: find a way to have Kang out-Thanos Thanos. Kang, who will be introduced in his full glory in Quantumania, poses a very different kind of threat than Thanos and one that Loveness believes audiences might find a bit more terrifying because as he explained in SFX Magazine, Kang is just one of us.

      To me, it’s all about the humanity. Obviously, Thanos is a great, iconic villain, but he’s also a big purple CGI guy. He’s an alien from outer space. The thing I really wanted to lean into is that Kang is a human being. Kang’s also a very lonely character. We’re going to be seeing a lot of him in a lot of different ways going forward, but I really wanted to introduce the humanity and even the vulnerability of this character before he gets to such apocalyptic, Avengers-scale heights.

      Jeff Lovenss

      If Quantumania is then about introducing the very human and vulnerable Kang, The Kang Dynasty would seem to be the place to unleash Kang. Loveness indicated that’s exactly what will happen and it might be more than Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can handle.

      Kang is a top-tier, A-list Avengers villain. What do you do when you feel you’re not enough against that? How do you step up to face the challenge of this generation, who is Thanos on an exponential level? He’s almost this infinite Thanos. I think we’re setting things up for a pretty dynamic story.

      Jeff Loveness

      Phase 4, which consisted of 14 live-action projects, recently concluded with the emotional Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Many of those projects introduced new heroes who are likely to be among those assembled to take on Kang. According to Loveness, when that tie comes, Marvel Studios will be ready to “put the pedal to the gas again.”

      As I’m building to Avengers I want it to feel like a generational struggle. Phase 4 felt like the birth of new characters. You’re giving everyone a little bit of a breath, you’re broadening out the universe, you have fun Disney Plus shows that are elevating characters. And now I think it’s time to put the pedal to the gas again, and really take all these new characters that we like and throw them into the fire.

      Jeff Loveness

      You had us at infinite Thanos. Fans will catch their first glimpse of just how dangerous Kang is when Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17th before watching him take over time in 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

      Source: SFX Magazine via Games Radar

    • ‘Quantumania’ Writer Jeff Lovenes Shares Unusual Source of Inspiration for MODOK

      ‘Quantumania’ Writer Jeff Lovenes Shares Unusual Source of Inspiration for MODOK

      Having worked as a writer on Rick and Morty for two seasons, Jeff Loveness is no stranger to alien landscapes, strange creatures and pulling from off-the-wall references. In that regard, Loveness must have felt right at home while scribing Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which takes the heroes to the Quantum Realm and introduces them to an array of peculiar creatures. Though the Ant-Family finds themselves in another dimension, it’s a creature with ties to their own that has caught the eye of audiences in the latest trailer and who will pose problems for the protagonists for MODOK’s time has come.

      As seen in the new trailer, MODOK is played by Corey Stoll, whose Darren Cross was gruesomely dispatched into the Quantum Realm in the final act of 2015’s Ant-Man. The character, who has a fairly comic-accurate design, plays a major role in Quantumania and according to Loveness, is also responsible for his “favorite moments” in the film.

      MODOK is maybe my single favorite thing that I got in the movie. Obviously, we are very faithful to the comics with the design and the look, but then there is a little bit of extra we put into him. Maybe I’ll get fired off The Kang Dynasty when people see it, but some of my favorite moments come from MODOK and the dynamics there.

      Jeff Loveness

      While MODOK’s look is comic-inspired, Loveness had to come up with a brand new take on the character given his new origins. In doing so, he took inspiration from a late 80s off-beat, cult classic comedy, A Fish Called Wanda.

      I’ll just say he was inspired by Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and Frank Grimes in an old Simpsons episode – this really put-upon, selfish, entitled but then also deeply sad, insecure man who knows that he got a shit deal in life and is trying to make the best of it. His ego will crumble the second he’s challenged but then also like Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda, he’s pretty good at killing people.

      Jeff Loveness

      A Fish Called Wanda is a wacky heist film with a number of betrayals and double-crosses, many of which include Kline’s Otto, a role for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Like its successors, Quantumania appears to be a heist film, so should the script of Quantumania have taken a bit of inspiration from A Fish Called Wanda, fans will have their share of twists and turns to track, which is part of the fun of heist films.

      Loveness explains that MODOK is “a real loose cannon character and I had a great amount of fun with him,” while adding that he played a key role in finding the tone for the threequel. “We cracked MODOK as a character“, said Loveness, “and the movie just became so fun.” Fans don’t have long to find out just how much fun Quantumania is as it is set to hit theaters on February 17th.

      Source: SFX Magazine via Games Radar

    • RUMOR: ‘Captain America 4’ Adding Serpent Society Member Diamondback

      RUMOR: ‘Captain America 4’ Adding Serpent Society Member Diamondback

      The more rumors make the rounds, the wilder Captain America: New World Order is starting to sound. Anthony Mackie is set to reprise his role as Captain America from the Diseny+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to lead the new entry in the franchise. Now, a new rumor is making the rounds hinting at one new villainous addition to the film.

      According to insider Daniel Richtman, it seems that we’ll see a female villain join the cast. She’s rumored to be the character known as Diamondback, who is a prominent member of the Serpent Society; something @CanWeGetToast seems to also highlight. There is also a hint that the character may potentially be a love interest for Mackie‘s Sam Wilson.

      Serpent Society is a fitting addition to the film and would also make for a nice callback to the fact that Marvel Studios CEO once jokingly revealed the third entry of the franchise would include the villains before unveiling it was actually an adaptation of Civil War. The recent casting of Xosha Roquemore has also been highlighted as a potential casting for this very role.

      The addition of the Serpent Society could also fit nicely into the themes of a Sam Wilson-led project. Given their history, there’s a lot of potential in bringing them to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The inclusion of Diamondback may also hint at other members potentially appearing in the film, and perhaps they also have a connection to the returning Tim Blake Nelson, who is reprising his long-awaited role as the Leader.

      Source: Patreon via The Direct, Twitter

    • Marvel Comics Writer Confirms Monica Rambeau’s Superhero Name in the MCU

      Marvel Comics Writer Confirms Monica Rambeau’s Superhero Name in the MCU

      There’s been a lot of discussion on what exactly the name will be for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s take on Monica Rambeau. We were first introduced to her during WandaVision played by Teyonah Parris. Surprisingly, she even received her iconic powers during her mission to save the town of Westview from the hands of a grieving Wanda Maximoff. Yet, this only left us with questions on what it might mean for her future in the MCU, as she’ll have a major role in the upcoming The Marvels film.

      In the comics, Monica Rambeau has gone by many different names as a hero. For some time she was Captain Marvel, but she was also better known as Spectrum for quite a long time. That name stuck for many years, but comic writer Eve L. Ewing got the chance to revisit the character in the comics in the comic Monica Rambeau: Photon. It surprised many that she seemingly went with another name and it seems there’s more to this than we at first expected.

      As part of the Black Comic Lords Live!, Ewing revealed that she did not choose the name Photon. She reacted to a question in regards to her being called Spectrum in the MCU to which she highlighted that she “did not choose for her to be called Photon in this comic.” Indirectly, this confirms that the character will likely adopt that name in the film adaptation, which would also match their usual attempts to at least keep a synergy between the latest comics and cinematic releases.

      Ewing does highlight that these divisions don’t usually coordinate but highlighting that she had no choice in the name pretty much gives away that this was something that was decided, especially as the decision on naming her Photon was very likely due to her upcoming appearance in The Marvels. We’re still a couple of months away, but perhaps we’ll officially hear her name spoken in the eventual trailer release for this film.

      Source: Black Comic Lords Live via Twitter

    • Early ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Box Office Projections Eyeing Trilogy’s Best

      Early ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Box Office Projections Eyeing Trilogy’s Best

      It’s become more and more difficult to truly project just how much money a film will make at the box office. Most of the 2020 holdovers were the only ones to beat early projects going into last year with Top Gun: Maverick and Minions: Rise of Gru. Still, Marvel films remained reliable box office performers even as they hit a sophomore slump, not too surprising with a franchise event like Avengers: Endgame that would normally wrap up any other franchise.

      Still, there are some early projects coming in on how their first Phase 5 entry may perform at the box office. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is only a few more weeks away for hitting theaters and early projects seem to have the film potentially earning between $96M to $131M in its opening weekend. with their usual performance of a strong drop in its second weekend, there’s a chance the film could end between $249M to $347M in its domestic run.

      With good word-of-mouth, the film may become the first $100M+ opener for the year and that’s in a strong February market. The film has the advantage of no real competition until Shazam: Fury of the Gods in March though Creed 3 has the potential to take the top spot in the domestic market. There’s also the Dungeons & Dragons film hitting theaters in late March.

      It should be noted for those ready to call this a potential bust for Marvel Studios, the film would still have the biggest domestic gross for any part of the Ant-Man franchise if it hits the lower end of the projections. Ant-Man managed to pull in $180M while its sequel had a slight boost to $216M. Plus, the last entry was five years ago and the main antagonist of the current Multiverse Saga might make it a “don’t miss” for fans that will check out the film early on.

      Also, its opening may double the initial opening weekend at the domestic box office, which was around $57M. It’s sequel opened to $75M, which makes this the potential biggest opener for the franchise. It’ll also have the biggest budget for an Ant-Man entry, which means the expectations are higher. The February release also opens up some questions on how it’ll perform but Marvel could still prove to be a reliable performer at the box office going into its fifth phase.

      Source: Box Office Pro

    • New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Mysterio’s Original Role

      New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Mysterio’s Original Role

      Spider-Man: No Way Home may have gone through some of the most changes throughout its production. A multiverse storyline featuring former Spider-Man villains was strongly dependent on actor availability that could make the film work. Plus, some may have only joined later in the pre-production schedule which may have also led to many last-minute changes to make it work.

      Somehow the film still managed to pull it off and offer a nostalgic but very personal storyline about loss. Storyboard artist Phil Langone has shared a new storyboard from the film’s earliest days that reveals Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Mysterio originally had a role in the film. It seems that he was going to be responsible for the death of Aunt May, which would eventually carry over to Willem Dafoe‘s Green Goblin in the final product.

      The mention of “one of” further hints that there may have been quite a few more different potential scenarios on how this sequence came to be. There’s also a chance that they were creating different scenarios to ensure that not every detail would manage to leak online, as the film was surrounded by quite a few leaks building up to its release.

      Still, there’s a lot of potential for knowing that there are plans for Mysterio potentially to return. Of course, this could’ve also been a version from another dimension, as it would’ve been fun to see Sam Raimi‘s original vision for the character with Bruce Campbell in the role. Perhaps we’ll see if some concepts return in the inevitable fourth entry.

      Source: Instagram

    • Kevin Feige Discusses Future Plans for Namor

      Kevin Feige Discusses Future Plans for Namor

      Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been a multi-faceted success for Marvel Studios as they close the fourth phase of projects. Ryan Coogler and company have been lauded by audiences for their ability to memorialize Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa and continue the enriching narrative of Wakanda. Though one new element from the sequel that’s been met with the same level of praise is the introduction of Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s portrayal of Namor.

      The classic Marvel Comics character made his silver screen debut that came with a highly applauded new origin to boot. Huerta Mejía’s portrayal quickly joined the ranks of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe villains and has left audiences excited about a potential return for the character in the future. And according to Kevin Feige, the wait might not be too long before Namor and the rest of Talokan re-emerge in a future project.

      You know, people who read the comics know that there’s 80 years of stories with Namor that we can tap into. So, where and when, we’ll keep to ourselves for now. But, we think that this is an incredibly iconic character that’s being introduced. Probably, to most people, most movie-goers for the first time. And we expect them to want to see more.

      Kevin Feige

      The events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever provides ample room for Namor to be a major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Projects such as Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts have long been rumored to further the global-political turmoil existing in this universe. The events of these two 2024 projects can easily provide the impetus for Namor to wage war on the surface war as he threatened in Wakanda Forever, something that has occurred previously in the Marvel comic lore.

      To lean further into Feige’s quote about Namor’s comic history, there are even more exciting territories Namor can explore in the future. Namely, it wouldn’t now be a surprise to see Namor continue his anti-heroic tendencies as a foil for the Fantastic Four. His long-standing feud with Reed Richards could further culminate in the two joining an Earth-616 iteration of the Illuminati, a concept introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and something that would make sense with Avengers: Secret Wars coming in the near future. And beyond that, Kevin Feige placing Namor as a figure in the X-Men corner of the universe is a tantalizing possibility.

      Though regardless of where Namor shows up next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, audiences should be excited to have more of Tenoch Huerta Mejía portrayal in the near future.

      Source: Comicbook.com

    • Rearview Mirror: A Phase 4 Retrospective-The Year with No Marvel

      Rearview Mirror: A Phase 4 Retrospective-The Year with No Marvel

      With Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania set to kick off Marvel Studios Phase 5 in February, what better time to take a comprehensive look back at the ups, downs, ins and outs of Phase 4. First up, the year that wasn’t.

      Long before Avengers: Endgame hit theaters in 2019, Marvel Studios was already well into the planning stages of the Multiverse Saga. Disney Plus was set to play a major role in said saga, which looked set to introduce a slew of new heroes and villains. James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was originally expected to kick off the new saga but after that went off the rails for a bit, exactly what to expect and when to expect it was a mystery until October of 2018 when the 2020 film slate was exclusively revealed to consist of only Black Widow and Eternals. When Murphy’s Multiverse went live in November of 2019, Marvel Studios had officially confirmed the news about the two films and also slated the first Disney Plus series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier for a Fall 2020 release. 2020 wasn’t set to be the big, blockbuster opening year to Phase 4 that fans may have expected but it looked the be the calm before the storm as 2021 was set to feature 3 big films and 4 streaming series including the first animated series made by Marvel Studios…and then, before anyone could process it, Marvel Studio’s very 2020 existence was gone.

      Things started off calmly enough in January 2020 as production on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier resumed following their holiday break. The production shot scenes involving the Flagsmashers at a State Park in Georgia, did some work in the downtown Atlanta location that served as Madripoor and was scheduled to head to Puerto Rico. Then, things started to get weird.

      On January 9th, director Scott Derrickson and Marvel Studios amicably parted way on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was set to begin principal photography in May. Just a couple of days later, before a second earthquake in Puerto Rico altered the course of the production of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. By mid-January, production on one of Marvel’s 2021 streaming series, Hawkeye, which was scheduled to begin in July, had been delayed indefinitely.

      Even as all that unfolded, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings began filming in Australia in February and productions in Atlanta for Loki, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and the untitled third Spider-Man film were all on track and Thor: Love and Thunder, which Christian Bale had just joined, was set to get underway down under in October.

      By early February, Sam Raimi emerged as the front runner to take the reigns on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the studio remained committed to beginning production in May. Then, Hawkeye got back on schedule, booking a September start of production in Atlanta. With Puerto Rico off limits, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was headed to Prague. All seemed good in the world…

      On March 3rd, 2020 the following information was shared to supporters of Murphy’s Multiverse Patreon:

      I expect production delays to happen. Things may begin shooting, stop shooting and begin again later. They may get pushed several weeks entirely. I believe it’s possible, even probable, that some projects may see release dates shifted. I believe it’s possible, though I can’t speak to probability here, that some projects may not release at all. I believe Disney may have to consider shutting down their U.S. parks for as little as a few weeks and as long as a couple of months (they’ve already closed parks in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Japan to the tune of a $175 M loss). None of this is good. Not even Disney can afford to keep losing money at this rate.

      By March 10th, rumors or release dates shifting started to pick up steam and by March 13th, word reached Murphy’s Multiverse that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier would not make its intended Fall 2020 release. By March 21st, Marvel Studios shut down all of its productions indefinitely (the linked article was published and available for some time before we were asked to take it down as many of the members of various crews had not been informed of the pauses on productions). The COVID-19 pandemic was in its earliest and most frightening days and like everything else, the world of Marvel Studios stopped in its tracks.

      With nothing but uncertainty staring them in the face, Marvel Studios had no choice but to start making movies. In early April, they made the first in a series of delays to their film slate pushing Black Widow from its intended May release to November and pushing Eternals into 2021. Additionally, with no clear answers about the safety of the production crews, Marvel Studios production stoppage continued with the studio eyeing a September restart.

      In early May, the Czech Republic opened back up to film crews, giving fans hope that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier might just make its 2020 release date after all. By June, things started to slowly heat up again as Hollywood and the rest of the world grew accustomed to working remotely. News of Evan Peters role in WandaVision proved to be the biggest news in months, Marvel Studios continued to search for the perfect Kamala Khan and production on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier resumed.

      As productions got back on track, so too did casting, hiring and planning for the future. Hailee Steinfeld landed the role of Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, director Nia DaCosta landed the Captain Marvel 2 gig and there was finally some movement on Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. Then, just as Ant-Man 3 got put on the 2022 slate, Jonthan Majors was cast in it as Kang and fans started to think just maybe they’d see Black Widow in November, the winds shifted once more. In September, as all of Hollywood shifted dates and release platforms, Disney became aware that a November release was not possible for Black Widow and began to search for a new date.

      As confidence in a theatrical release for Black Widow plummeted, hope arose that WandaVision would skip over The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and release in 2020, perhaps as early as Thanksgiving. A trailer for the project was released in late September, marking the first new Marvel marketing material of the year. Just a few days later, however, Marvel Studios officially pulled the plug on the 2020 release of Black Widow, pushing it 6 months further down the road into May 2021.

      Productions resumed and began and, alas, WandaVision didn’t quite make into 2020. By October, production had gotten underway on Spider-Man: No Way Home and in December word of Charlie Cox‘s role in the film was shared to the disbelief of pretty much everyone. A year that began with so much hope and saw so much struggle ended with the promise of Cox’s return.

      For those that remember it well, 2020 was all about the news and rumors as any little tidbit gave fans something to cling to while we waited to understand what was happening around us. While it was expected to be slow year for Marvel Studios, nobody could have expected it to be the year with no Marvel Studios presence.