Upcoming Marvel Studios feature Captain America: New World Order will mark Anthony Mackie’s first time leading an MCU film as the Star-Spangled Avenger. Sam Wilson takes over the mantle from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in the wake of their last team-up effort in Avengers: Endgame and the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. By all accounts, Evans, who also said goodbye to the MCU, has been unlikely to bring back his original Captain America character anytime soon.
Following Marvel Studios’ recent D23 presentation, Mackie joked that Sebastian Stan gets Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent in the upcoming Thunderbolts and expressed his desire to see Evans return in some manner. However, in a recent interview, Mackie had a more sobering take on the potential return, expressing Evans’ own views on where his future with Captain America rests.
Mackie discussed the possibility of Evans reprising his role as Steve Rogers in an interview with E! News, and he made a joke about how little Evans is focused on the MCU now:
Chris is so far gone from Marvel. Like, Marvel is not even in his radius. He’s so far gone. He’s enjoying life. He’s like an old retired dude.
Anthony Mackie
While a return in New World Order seems unlikely, an eventual Evans return is still unknown, especially with major cross-over films like Avengers: Secret Wars in the works. But, for the time being, Sam Wilson will shine as Captain America in the post-Infinity Saga MCU.
Captain America: New World Order will be released in theaters on May 3, 2024.
While all eyes are on Marvel Studios, there are still quite a few projects over at Sony hoping to capture that same light. Morbius couldn’t quite keep the same momentum that Venom and its sequel did; leading to some uncertainty if they might shift their plans to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Still, they have projects in some form of production like Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web.
The latter actually is currently filming and has many rumors surrounding what direction it might potentially take. While nothing has been confirmed, it definitely has a lot of hopes to tell a unique tale within the Spider-Verse but there has been a lack of updates. While nothing major, it seems that a new photo from Madame Web’s crew has found its way online featuring them wearing some crew merch with a new logo. The image has been shared by u/Parking-Balance111 on Reddit.
It should be noted that crew merchandise isn’t something officially licensed by the studio. Commonly, it’s used as a thank you gift using elements from the Internet highlighting elements from the project. There’s some likelihood that this new logo is based on something someone found online. It’s unclear though if this is something used for the production crew while they are filming, or if it’s already a present as they slowly wrap up.
Still, it’s great to see that filming is coming along. We’ll hopefully get some kind of hint at what exactly Sony is going for with Madame Web, especially with them giving a minor supporting character their entire film. It still feels uncertain what Sony is going for, as they still never confirmed which Spider-Man is part of their universe and what they hope to accomplish besides a potential Sinister Six team-up, as hinted in Morbius‘ post-credit sequence.
While a lot of discussions surrounding Marvel Studios’ upcoming Black panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, focused on how they’ll juggle whoever may take on the mantle, there’s one more big element they are making sure no one forgets. The sequel will act as the introduction of Namor the Submariner into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it seems he’s getting quite the spotlight in some of their latest merchandise reveals. Among them is the confirmation that he’ll also get to use his iconic battle cry “Imperius Rex.”
As shared by @NamorNews, we get a bunch of new designs highlighting the three main members of the MCU’s take on Atlantis. We see some familiar artwork of Attuma, Namora, and Namor but the newest addition is the fact that his battle cry is added to some of the designs. It’s the first time we’ve seen it used and it may confirm that we’ll get the shout at least once during the upcoming film.
It’s great to see the elements they are taking from the comics. Even while they changed the character’s cultural background, it opened up the concept to stand out while still pulling in elements from the character’s comic origin. Marvel and director Ryan Coogler managed to even get his iconic green pants as part of his design with the little feet wings hinted at in the first trailer. Here’s hoping that the next trailer potentially offers a bit more from the character and shows us how dangerous he’ll be when facing against the nation of Wakanda.
Just as many Marvel Cinematic Universe fans were on a high with the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, it seemed like another production was facing some turbulent times. The long-awaited Blade film has been continuously pushed back and is now seemingly in limbo. The film lost its director Bassam Tariq and Moon knight writer Beau DeMayo is on board to rewrite the script. Still, it seems Marvel Studios is still hopeful about getting the project off the ground sooner than later.
According to Big Screen Leaks, Marvel is hoping to start production in early 2023. Of course,e that depends strongly if they find a director by then and can also get the script together. Film productions start without a finished script, but they’ll likely try to finish an outline that will help solidify the project, especially with Mahershala Ali already attached to play the role.
It’s not been an easy road for this project, but there’s also a lot of hope to give the character the right treatment. Early castings already hinted at the project moving away from the 1998 version as they try to embrace his comic roots. Early storyline teases hinted that the film might take a more Gothic direction and explore the character during the 1920s. Though, if they are rewriting the script it is unclear if they will still stick to this original pitch. Either way, it’s better they take their time until the project is ready rather than rush it out and we’ll see who they might find as the new director.
There’s still some time until Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in theaters later in November. Yet, that isn’t stopping form early projections from hitting the web. The sequel has some heavy weight upon its back, as it not only has to compensate for the loss of its main star Chadwick Boseman but also faced quite a few production troubles along the way. After a powerful first trailer though, it definitely seemed safe to say that Wakanda Forever will still leave its mark in theaters while paying tribute to the actor that made T’Challa a household name.
According to Variety’s early projections based on Cinelytics, the film is likely to make around $423M domestically. Many will look at these numbers and point out that it’s a far cry from the first entry’s massive $700M domestic release. It’s still very early to say how it will truly perform as the marketing has yet to kick into high gear but there is some concern about the passing of Boseman negatively affecting the film’s main draw. Plus, the first entry was quite the cultural release that went way past expectations.
While many like to callback to Tom Cruise‘s star power for the box office success of Top Gun: Maverick, it’s just as much lightning in the bottle scenario that it had the staying power it did. It became Cruise’s highest-grossing film ever by a wide margin. Sometimes elements just come together at the right time to give films a massive boost, which we saw in the past with Avatar, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and The Force Awakens. The question is rather if people’s curiosity about the sequel and how it pays tribute to the actor.
It could just as well end up surprising many. Plus, Marvel Studios’ main goal is for it to cover the production costs and pull in a profit. If it manages to accomplish that, it’s still a success in their eyes even if it wouldn’t really break any massive records or come near the first release. For now, it still looks like it could likely become 2022’s highest-grossing Marvel Studios release and that might be enough to push the project forward. Who knows if we have another No Way Home scenario on our hands and we won’t know until November.
Just yesterday, Illuminerdi was sharing some insight into what may be initial plot details on what the future has in store for Mahershala Ali‘s take on Blade. It hinted that we’d explore the 1920s with Eric Brooks potentially taking on European vampires. Yet, it seems that current developments may push the project into completely new directions, especially after losing director Bassam Tariq. As we shared earlier this week, there were enough hints that Moon Knight writer and X-Men ’97 head writer Beau DeMayo may be attached to give the project a few rewrites. Now it seems like he’s heavier involved than expected.
While Stacy Osei-Kuffour was attached to write the initial script, DeMayo has potentially now joined the production to rewrite the script from scratch. While covering the news on the first story hints, The Direct reveals that according to their sources he is currently set to overhaul the entire movie from scratch. As such, we might expect them to invest quite a bit more time before they’ll enter production if he truly is that heavily involved moving forward.
It seems that his work on Moon Knight and the upcoming X-Men revival series impressed Marvel Studios quite a bit, inspiring their move to have him lead the project. It’s not uncommon that this happens with these types of projects, as Deadpool 3 famously also saw Bob’s Burgers‘ Wendy and Lizzie Molyneux get replaced by the franchise’s original writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick after some initial scripts were already pitched. The only question remains who exactly may take over as director for this project and how he may also lend his voice to the project moving forward.
With Werewolf by Night nearing a week from its official release on Disney+, anticipation for Marvel Studios’ first Special Presentation has certainly been on the rise. Ever since the official announcement of the project paired with the first trailer, many fans were pleasantly taken aback by how much this creative team went all in on the 1930s horror genre pastiche.
This was followed by the social media embargo lifting and critics giving overall positive responses to the 50-minute short film for its ability to honor classic filmmaking in the streaming landscape. A large heap of that praise should then land at the feet of director Michael Giacchino for creating this vintage aesthetic.
While sitting down with Collider for an interview, Giacchino discussed how some of these implementations came into place. Namely, the usage of cigarette burn cue marks throughout the special.
As we were editing and stuff, my editor Jeff and I are such nerds for this kind of thing, and we were just like, ‘Oh, we got to put in those things too. We got to put in the reel changes.’ Because we always approached this as something that was being done in the 30s. What would they have done and what would they have had at their disposal? How would they have done it? So, we did as many practical effects as we could.
Michael Giacchino
While being such a distinct element that could very well go unnoticed to most casual viewers, it’s emblematic of Giacchino’s care for matching the form of classic horror movies in the golden age of film. As well, the reliance on practical effects will likely stand out distinctly in relation to the heavy reliance on digital effects in film (especially in the superhero genre). The director went on to elaborate on his desire to have fully built sets for the actors to interact with in Werewolf by Night.
I wanted the actors to feel like they were in a true environment as opposed to having not only the work of creating these characters for us to experience on film, but then they would have to also imagine what was around them.
Michael Giacchino
Ultimately, these types of quotes from Michael Giacchino continue to build high amounts of promise for Marvel Studios’ upcoming project. If nothing else, Werewolf by Night is shaping to be one of the most visually unique projects to release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Werewolf by Night stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly and is set to release on Friday, October 7 on Disney+.
The news is out! Blade, the long-awaited cinematic reboot of Marvel’s resident vampire hunter, is now without a director. Bassam Tariq, who had been attached to the project since the summer of 2021, relieved himself of his duties after multiple delays in production forced the film past his range of availability. Marvel Studios is said to already be in search mode for a new filmmaker to take over Mahershala Ali‘s much-anticipated bloodsucking debut, but with relatively short notice and a tight schedule to work with, it might not be easy to lock a creative down. Luckily for Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel, Murphy’s Multiverse has a few suggestions that just might do the trick.
When thinking of a potential new director, it’s important to keep in mind that Marvel will need somebody who can step in quickly and pick up the reigns of production with ease. It’s very likely the studio will reach out to talent they already know, and keep to names that likely won’t demand a total restart of the creative process once they’re on board. This narrows down the list considerably, but also provides an excellent list of helmers that would be sure to make the best Blade film possible.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Adil & Bilall
When one thinks of directors who’ve worked with Marvel Studios in the past and recently had their schedule pretty cleared up, one thinks of the duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The creative pairing have had a rollercoaster year, and essentially all of it has been within the realm of live-action superheroism. Adil and Bilall spent the last couple years directing the first and last episodes of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel before moving on to make DC’s Batgirl film. As has been widely reported in recent months, only one of those two projects actually released. At one point, the team was supposed to take over Eddie Murphy‘s Beverly Hills Cop IV, but that job has also since fallen through.
The point being made here is that, despite an immense amount of talent between the both of them, Adil and Bilall are not currently tied down to any known movie or series. Following the loss of Batgirl, Marvel boss Feige sent the duo an apologetic email that implied he hoped to work with them again soon, and their previous directing credits (namely Bad Boys For Life) suggest they’d be a perfect fit for the action-packed world of Blade. The biggest setback in this plan would be if Feige prefers they return for a potential second season of Ms. Marvel instead, but since that project is merely a rumor and not officially in the cards, the betting man would be smarter to put it all on Blade and hope for the best.
Antoine Fuqua
Antoine Fuqua
Similarly to the previous entry on this list, filmmaking veteran Antoine Fuqua is currently without an immediate project. The director, known for his work on films like Training Day and The Equalizer, recently lead production on a Will Smith-starring movie titled Emancipation for Apple TV+. However, controversy surrounding the actor’s now-infamous Oscar’s slap and a handful of filming delays have caused Emancipation to be put on the back burner. Couple that with the fact Fuqua supposedly met with Marvel Studios about the potential of directing something back in 2018, and there may be cause to believe the filmmaker could be on the list of talent being sought out by Feige at this very moment. While it has been a long time since that widely-reported meeting took place, Marvel is well-known for their ability to circle back around to creatives and concepts that didn’t work out in the past. At the very least, Feige has Fuqua‘s phone number, and the latter’s notable filmography of gritty, action-based plots with plenty of real-world symbolism would mix perfectly with a take on Blade that has Mahershala in the titular role.
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Gina Prince-Bythewood
A name that’s currently hot in Hollywood, Gina Prince-Bythewood could be an incredible sleeper pick for Blade if her schedule allows it. The director has spent the last couple of years building an impressive resume in the action genre, adapting The Old Guard graphic novel to positive reviews in 2020 before releasing The Woman King to critical acclaim just this past month. Both projects were praised for their fight choreography and story elements, putting Prince-Bythewood at the top of the list of people who could likely handle what Blade requires.
Not only that, but the former Love & Basketball filmmaker has a history with Marvel projects, having worked on Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger in 2018 before developing the unmade Silver & Black for Sony’s Spider-Man universe. With Sony and Marvel Studios now so friendly, it seems plausible that Feige could have a standing relationship with Prince-Bythewood that leads to her taking over directorial duties for Blade. The creative already passed over directing The Old Guard 2, so the next few months might be open enough for her to slide in and make her mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
F. Gary Gray
F. Gary Gray with Vin Diesel
Bringing it all the way back to 2015, when F. Gary Gray topped Marvel Studios’ shortlist of possible directors for the megahit Black Panther. Obviously, he didn’t take the gig, which ultimately went to Ryan Coogler with Gray helming Universal’s The Fate of the Furious instead. However, the fact Marvel was so high on the filmmaker at that point could mean he’s still on their radar nearly a decade later, with his only upcoming project being the undated Kevin Hart heist film Lift. The creative has a history of crafting movies with over-the-top action scenes, and has worked with major studios on summer blockbuster-style products on many occasions. All of this could make Gray the perfect veteran presence to step in and course-correct Blade in an efficient manner.
Regina King
Regina King
The least likely name on this list, but one that could be a lot of fun. Best known for her stellar acting career, Regina King has spent the last decade dabbling with work behind the scenes as well. She’s been directing episodes of television since 2013 and made her feature film debut with One Night in Miami… in 2020. According to showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, the iconic creative almost directed an episode of Marvel’s Luke Cage during its two-season run, and although she’s since denied it, King was once listed as a name in contention for DC’s Superman reboot. Her busy schedule may not permit it, but if she could find the time to fit Blade in, it could make for one of the most exciting and original directing choices Marvel Studios has ever made.
Following director Bassam Tariq’s departure from the project, it now seems that production on Marvel Studios’ Blade is unsurprisingly going to be delayed. Tariq’s departure leaves the project, which has already faced several delays, without either of the members of the original creative team now that Beau DeMayo has taken over script duties from Stacy Osei-Kuffour. With so many major shifts occurring in such a short span of time, Marvel Studios has made the wise choice to delay the start of the project but will continue pre-production work on the script.
Just when principal photography on Blade may get underway is still in question and will likely remain that way for some time until Marvel can lock down a director. Following news of Tariq’s exit, several outlets and individuals, including Big Screen Leaks, shared news of the expected delay with a target date of early 2023.
Later, Angela Boehm Casting in Ohio, an agency that had been working to find extra for Blade’s shoot in Cleveland, announced that the agency was halting its search for actors until the Spring.
While these reports certainly don’t conflict with one another, they both indicate that the reality is nobody knows exactly when Blade will begin filming. It’s already very likely that the film will be moved from its November 3rd, 2023 slot. Now the focus becomes how soon it will be ready for theaters. With the studio recently moving its February 2024 film, which was just announced yesterday to be Deadpool 3, to September of 2024, a spot has opened up for Blade to land somewhere in the first quarter of 2024. Certainly, none of these things are linked together and are all just a series of unrelated, happy coincidences.
No, you read that correctly but it looks like Hugh Jackman isn’t quite done yet with his role as Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds shared a new video on his official Twitter account and suddenly dropped the news that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in the upcoming third Deadpool movie. Not only that but he also revealed that the film will premiere on September 6th, 2025.
There’s a fun reference in regard to the film not being featured during D23 but this random drop is right up Reynold‘s usual marketing scheme for the character. Instead of being a part of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are still going to explore Deadpool as part of the original 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men. Perhaps this is meant to not only send off the character into the multiverse but also as a way to wrap up the trilogy, which has repeatedly mocked their relationship.
We also got a new logo fitting for Wolverine’s return and includes the Marvel Studios logo.
This is technically the first non-mainline MCU project to release throughout the Multiverse Saga and it seems fitting that they’d make use of some familiar elements. If they are still waiting for an opportunity to fully use some elements from the original before they start building their own. Who knows if this also opens up the possibility of Hugh Jackman reeturning in Avengers: Secret Wars. After him seemingly leaving the role behind, it’s crazy to think Wolverine is back in style and perhaps he hopefully gets to finally wear the iconic suit this time around.
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