All tolled, 2022 saw 9 Marvel properties released into the wild. Marvel Studios pushed out 3 films, 3 streaming series and 2 special presentations and Sony decided it was Morbin’ time. Of those properties, three of them were among the Top 10 Most Anticipated 2022 Movies as determined by Fandango last December. New year, new list, but once again Marvel properties lead the way in Fandango’s Top 10 2023’s Most Anticipated Blockbusters.
To the surprise of mostly nobody, James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tops the list, which was compiled by polling more than 5,000 Fandango users. To the surprise of many, another Marvel Studios’ threequel made the top 3 in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. In between the two: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse which, interestingly enough, was also at #2 on the 2022 list before its release date was moved into 2023. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 (Mission Impossible 7) which appear at #6 and #7, respectively, on this year’s list, were also part of last year’s Top 10!
JUST IN: We polled over 5,000 @Fandango users to learn the 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023. The Top 3: 1. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 2. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE 3. ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA *Note: #GOTGVol3 is the first Guardians movie to top this list pic.twitter.com/1sbA43qLm9
The hype for Marvel Studios’ untitled Deadpool and Wolverine film has been steadily growing over the past couple of months. Following the official announcement of the return of Hugh Jackman as Logan, rumors of the plot of the film began to populate the usual channels. One of the more interesting and sensible rumors indicated that Owen Wilson‘s Mobius and his employer, the Time Variance Authority were set to play a key role in the film. It looks like those rumors stand a strong chance of being proven true down the road.
While explaining in an interview with Sirius XM how his character, who died in 2017’s Logan, would be able to make an appearance in the new film, Jackman gave a pretty simple answer…time travel!
But all because of this device they have in the Marvel world of moving around timelines, now we can go back because, you know, it’s science. And so I don’t have to screw with the Logan timeline, which was important to me, and I think probably to the fans too.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman has revealed that ‘DEADPOOL 3’ will utilize a Time Travel device throughout the film. 👀
That handy little device Jackman referenced could well be one of the TVA’s TemPads, first seen in Season 1 of Loki. Jackman’s comments also indicate that, according to MCU logic, the events of the Deadpool and Wolverine film are going to create an alternate timeline and, most likely, an incursion. Given the most popular theories about the film include Deadpool visiting timelines from past Marvel films like Fantastic Four and the Fox X-Men franchise, it’s possible that his meddling in those timelines creates a number of incursions. Deadpool creating a mess that the new team of Avengers would end up having to clean up sounds like just the right way to bring the Merc with a Mouth into the MCU.
The newly-formed DC Studios has continued to cause pure chaos and make the DC Entertainment brand messier than ever—which is hard to do. But perhaps better days are on the horizon for the studio, as co-CEO James Gunn told Twitter this week that DC Studios has a new slate set, and he plans to unveil the first part of it in early 2023. With that announcement, though, came the news that Superman actor Henry Cavill will in fact not be returning to play the character in the future. Cavill announced his return in October with his post-credits scene cameo in Black Adam to much fanfare. Black Adam, for a few reasons now, has become a fairly awkward moment in DC’s history. It probably does not help that Dwayne Johnson’s team reportedly leaked the film’s profit report based on false assumptions to try and prove to the public that the movie was profitable.
With everything happening at DC Studios, it begs the questions of whether the four remaining DCEU films with scheduled releases will actually happen, or alternatively, matter. If The Flash does go forward, it apparently cut Cavill’s and Gal Gadot’s cameos in its most recent cut, which would suggest that DC’s flagship characters across the board will likely get recast in a hard reboot situation. In that reboot scenario, it is very unclear how films like Blue Beetle will play any role in the studio’s grand new plan, but you can read the first official synopsis of the film here. It could be all we get.
Though he first appeared in 1965’s Fantastic Four #48 and is thought of as a “Fantastic Four villain”, Galactus actually has quite the history with another major Marvel character. The Devourer of Worlds has quite the origin story, being the only being to survive the transition from the Sixth Cosmos to the Seventh Cosmos, and one day on a planetoid in the depths of space, Galactus chose to tell that story to Thor. As is often the case in Marvel Comics, Galactus’ origin story has been retconned over time, but he first told it to Thor in 1969 over issues #168 and #169, forging a pretty solid bond between the two characters. That bond was recently severed when Thor killed Galactus, but what’s a little killing between friends?
Fans have yet to see a live-action version of Galactus hit the screen (that thing in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will never be recognized as Galactus) but it turns out that he almost made his MCU debut alongside his buddy Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder. Unused concept art from Anthony Winn reveals that the idea was at least kicked around at one point in time. The concept art shows Galactus facing off in space against Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor!
The story behind why Galactus didn’t make the cut may never become public knowledge, but it’s fascinating to see just how close fans of the character were to his extremely long-awaited debut. It’s unknown at present just what Marvel Studios’ plans are for the character. He may appear in the rumored Silver Surfer Special Presentation. He may appear in Fantastic Four. The powers that be may choose to take a page from his comic book origin and wait until the creation of the next iteration of the Cosmos, perhaps following Avengers: Secret Wars, before adding him to the mix. Whatever the case, it seems highly probable it will be a comic-accurate Galactus whenever he shows up and not a lingering fart cloud traversing through space.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is back in style as they’re about to face the Quantum Realm in Quantumania. Not only its natural dangers are going to be in their path but also some new and familiar enemies. We finally get our first look at Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror; only met a Variant previously; as well as some new additions. SDCC already confirmed that MODOK, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, will have a role in the film but we also know that Bill Murray has a big role.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Peyton Reed finally got a chance to hype up his upcoming February release by sharing some details on what his next film has in store for us. In it, he also got the chance to talk about Bill Murray‘s character, who leaked that he’s a “bad guy” all the way back in January of this year. Now, Reed got a chance to confirm he has a “crucial role” in the story and how he connects to the overarching storyline.
Bill Murray plays a character from Janet van Dyne’s. It’s a crucial role. A big theme in this movie is the things that parents and kids don’t say to each other, the secrets that they keep in families. In the last movie, when Hank and Hope rescue Janet, Evangeline Lilly’s character had this idea of: Oh, I’m going to be reunited with my mom, this is going to be great, we’re going to talk about everything. But what happens if the other person, in this case Janet, puts up a wall and maybe is not comfortable talking about certain things and doesn’t reveal certain things about her past? As we know from great stories, you can put the past behind you, but the past will always find a way to show up again. Bill’s character represents that in this movie.
Peyton Reed
It’s definitely going to make for an interesting storyline on how our parents have their own secrets, which also adds the question of how this’ll connect back to Scott and Cassie Lang. The Ant-Man film shave been the more family-focused of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and taking a darker twist on that type of storyline will definitely make this an interesting addition to the franchise.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed has a lifelong love affair with Marvel Comics. The mind behind Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man franchise has never been shy about his affinity for the comics and the characters found on their pages and once upon a time pitched a Fantastic Four movie to the execs at Fox. Reed’s first two Ant-Man projects were released following major event films and, as such, were fairly mild in terms of their impact on the greater MCU. In both cases, that meant that the film’s villains definitely weren’t on anyone’s top ten bad guys lists. That’s all about to change with Quantumania.
“I grew up a real Marvel comics nerd,” Reed told EW, “and there are a handful of antagonists in the Marvel comics universe who are all-timers. Loki, obviously. Doctor Doom from the Fantastic Four. And Kang the Conqueror.” The last name on that list will make his MCU debut in Quantumania and as can be gleaned from the trailer for the film, he means business.
via EW
According to Reed, bringing in a major villain and changing peoples’ perspectives on what an Ant-Man movie can have always been on his mind. “In conversations with Kevin Feige and Marvel, it was like, I want to put Ant-Man and Wasp up against a really formidable villain in this movie,” said the director, “and so we’re doing Kang the Conqueror.”
Even the hardest of the hardcore Marvel Comics fans might have a hard time explaining the totality of Kang to a newbie. He’s just a complicated dude with a lot of time travel stories that make his character hard to follow…because he’s many different characters depending on when he is. While the MCU version will still have some of those qualities, Reed hints that this version of Kang isn’t exactly ripped right from the pages of the comics.
In the comics, Kang has dominion over time, he’s a time traveler. His situation is a little bit different in this movie, which I won’t spoil for you, but he’s someone who, [while] we live very linear lives, from childhood to death, Kang doesn’t exist that way. It struck me as interesting to take the tiniest Avengers — in some people’s minds maybe the least powerful Avengers — and put them up against the most powerful force in the multiverse.
Peyton Reed
As for what that means, fans will have to wait just a couple more months to find out for themselves; however, get used to see Majors and Kang and Majors as not-quite-Kang for the next few years.
Cassie Lang has been among the biggest talking points of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania since it was first announced. The 2020 reveal that a third Ant-Man project was in development also brought the news that up-and-coming Freaky star Kathryn Newton would become the third actress to bring the character to life, following Abby Ryder Fortson‘s turn as the child version of Cassie in the first two films and Emma Fuhrmann‘s teenage take in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. This sudden recasting caused some controversy among those who hoped to see Fuhrmann continue in the role, but director Peyton Reed is confident Newton‘s performance will help carry Quantumania to new heights.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker explained Cassie and the relationship she has to her family will be central to the story of the upcoming Ant-Man threequel. The film’s trailer hinted the youngest Lang would be largely responsible for the chaos that ensues throughout, and Reed all but confirms this in his exclusive interview, stating fans will be able to see Cassie in a brand new light:
One of the single most intriguing things that I was excited to do in this movie was progress the Scott-Cassie relationship. It’s been central to all the Ant-Man movies, the big difference here being that, as a result of Endgame, Cassie is now a young woman. She has become a scientific mind in her own right. She’s been going through Hank Pym’s old journals and notebooks, and has really latched on to this idea of quantum science and quantum technology.
Peyton Reed
In the comics, Cassie grows up to become a size-changing superhero much like her father. Initially known as Stature, and later as Stinger, she is known as a founding member of the Young Avengers and an important figure in the Marvel mythos. Newton can be seen wearing a fairly comic-accurate suit in the promotion for Quantumania, indicating the movie might also portray her turn to superhuman status.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters February 17th, 2023.
Ant-Man and the Waspare going big. The traditionally tiny heroes have a long track record of being an afterthought among fans, with their films often viewed as simple Avengers epilogues or “smaller”, less important entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Paul Rudd‘s large supporting role in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame went a long way in solidifying the size-changer and his cohorts as major Marvel players, but it didn’t do much to change the reputation of his solo franchise. According to director Peyton Reed, this will change with the series’ third film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Reed promised that the movie will not be another “palate cleanser” for the MCU. Instead, the film, which kicks off Phase 5, will match the expectations set by large-scale team-up projects like Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Describing his attitude towards Quantumania, the filmmaker explained:
People felt like, ‘Oh, these are fun little palate cleansers after a gigantic Avengers movie’. For this third one, I said, ‘I don’t want to be the palate cleanser anymore. I want to be the big Avengers movie.’
Peyton Reed
via EW
Reed went on to say he “metaphorically kicked in Kevin Feige’s door” to demand the third Ant-Man adventure be considered very important to the greater MCU. If fans of the legacy character were worried Marvel Studios wasn’t taking him seriously, they can take comfort in knowing Reed is on their side. The director also described how the exciting new setting helps change the tone of the movie and create more “epic“:
In the first one, we introduced the idea of the Quantum Realm, we kind of dipped our toe into it, and then even more so in the second one. But we obviously left a lot of unanswered questions. We wanted to go in a different direction, and create an epic movie where the bulk of it takes place in the Quantum Realm. For me, it was really exciting, because the other two films take place in San Francisco, and this one, we were creating this incredibly complex subatomic world, and all the environments and ecosystems and creatures and beings that inhabit that world.
Peyton Reed
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17th, 2023.
The breakout star of Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis is reportedly ready to flame on. Austin Butler, the 31-year-old actor who burst onto the film scene this year after nearly two decades of steady work on television, is supposedly putting himself in contention to play Johnny Storm in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four. The film is one of the most anticipated superhero projects currently in development, and there have been no shortage of rumors swirling around its potential cast. This information comes from a recent episode of Jeff Sneider‘s The Hot Mic, in which the industry insider dropped the possible bombshell that Butler had spoken to his representation and his agents were in the process of “putting him up for Human Torch.”
This does not mean that Butler is a front-runner for the role, or even that Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel are genuinely interested in him as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future. If true, however, it might be another indicator of just how coveted roles in the Matt Shakman-directed blockbuster have become in Hollywood. The Fantastic Four are major players in the Marvel Universe, and landing a leading role in Shakman‘s project could mean several years of big money and bigger exposure to follow. As Sneider puts it in the same episode of his show, Fantastic Four is one of two “crown jewels” for Marvel’s next era in the MCU, and “all the actors in town want to be part” of it.
The film, set to be released on February 14th, 2025, will be the fourth attempt at bringing the titular team to life on the big screen, and fans are hoping it will be better than what they’ve seen in the past. There are currently no actors officially attached to the cast.
James Gunn almost didn’t get to finish his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, but given the chance to do so, the director made sure it would be memorable. In an interview with EW, Gunn laid out the goals he has in mind for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and none of them are small in scale.
Gunn hasn’t been shy in sharing that this film will be the last hurrah for this group of characters and that Rocket and his horrific origins will be at its center. “To me, Rocket has always been the secret protagonist of the Guardians movies,” said Gunn. “From the beginning, it has been rooted in who he is as a character. I think he exemplifies a lot of the traits of all the Guardians. They’ve had all these traumas, and it brings them together. I just think that his is more extreme than others.One of the reasons why I came back to [make] this movie” said Gunn of his decision to return after being let go, “was because I felt like I needed to tell Rocket’s story. I would’ve been very sad not to complete the trilogy for many reasons, but I just feel very connected to Rocket. I feel like nobody would be able to tell his full story if it wasn’t me.“
Telling Rocket’s origins means the team will cross paths with Chukwudi Iwuji‘s High Evolutionary, who is responsible for the experiments that turned Rocket from an animal into the gruff and brilliant strategist fans know and love. “He was just fine being an animal, and he was transformed into something else he didn’t want to be,” Gunn said of Rocket. “I think that transformation itself was extremely painful, but I also think it made him feel incredibly alienated from everyone else. In Vol. 3, we learn a lot about his past — where he came from, who he is, and what he’s been through. It’s been a difficult road for the little animal.“
It’s Rocket’s ties to the High Evolutionary that will drive the entire plot of the film, and put the Guardians in a precarious position and fans shouldn’t expect everyone to make it out alive. “This is the big one,” says Gunn of the finale. “This is where things really happen. This is where we get to know the truth about who these characters are, and we face the biggest stakes.” Who walks away and what comes next are certainly part of audiences’ fascination with the film, but the emotional first trailer for the project reminds fans to sit back and enjoy the ride and let the future take care of itself.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5th, 2023.
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