Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Studios

  • ‘Blade’: Five Directors Who Could Replace Bassam Tariq

    ‘Blade’: Five Directors Who Could Replace Bassam Tariq

    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.

    Source(s): CBR, Collider, Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ From Page to Screen: Episode 6

    ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ From Page to Screen: Episode 6

    Welcome back to yet another From page to Screen focusing on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. In the show’s first week, we looked at the differences between the comics’ and series’ versions of Jennifer Walters’ origin story. The following week, viewers got a live-action introduction to Jen’s new legal job, taken straight out of Dan Slott’s and Juan Bobillo’s 2004 She-Hulk run—Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway (GLK&H). Episode 3 introduced a reimagined version of comic book villains and in its fourth week, the show decided to focus on Jen’s love life and, the following week, on Jen’s nemesis, Titania.

    Episode 6 presented itself as a tricky one when it came to finding a strong enough connection to She-Hulk comics. Both Mr. Immortal and Intelligencia had a somewhat meaningful presence in it but were already the focus of a couple of features from the past week. It was then time for something different. And much like Jen herself stated, in the starting sequence, that episode 6 was a “self-contained wedding episode”, why not try and make this a self-contained P2S feature? If an engagement featured in a She-Hulk comic can also be referenced, then that’s enough to justify the option. Let’s go with that.

    Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 6
    Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 6

    In 1989 Marvel published a two-part story entitled She-Hulk: Ceremony, that focused on Jen and Wyatt Wingfoot getting engaged. In the midst of it all both also had to help stop a madman attempting a mystical world conquest. Much as She-Hulk: Attorney at Law tries to focus on the comedic side of the character, this was a story that was initially intended to be a romantic comedy. But what began with the best of intentions turned out to be one of Marvel’s most clumsy attempts at giving feminism a much-needed spotlight. 

    She-Hulk: Ceremony #2 (1990)

    The basic plot goes a little something like this:

    While watching a TV soap opera, She-Hulk feels the need to become a mother. She decides to look for something to fill that “void she has discovered in her life” because she “feels empty.” In a baffling decision, she somehow sees her ex-boyfriend Wyatt Wingfoot (who she briefly dated when She-Hulk was a member of the Fantastic Four) as the only one who can help her. Wingfoot, a native American, is just beginning his legal education while still residing in the Baxter Building and is utterly shocked by being approached by Jen and being asked to father her children out of the blue.

    By trying to appease the usual rom-com structure and conflicts, the story also ended up following the same clichés the genre usually features. She-Hulk thus ended up being portrayed as extremely bashful and uneasy about sharing her thoughts, very much unlike her usual honest, straightforward, and forthright character when it comes to her emotions. Another characterization that seems incredibly outdated is how the comic shows Jen as being very ambivalent regarding the right to choose to have an abortion or not, something she clearly states following a bomb threat at a local abortion clinic. This sort of tactlessness when it came to her character perhaps only came second to the disrespect towards native American culture with it being depicted in the most stereotypical fashion, filled with mystical nonsense, reducing it to a caricature.

    She-Hulk: Ceremony #1 (1989)
    She-Hulk: Ceremony #1 (1989)
    She-Hulk: Ceremony #1 (1989)
    She-Hulk: Ceremony #2 (1990)

    In the end, and after finally defeating the big bad, Carlton Beatrice, Jen and Wyatt realize that they weren’t really in love with each other. They become aware that their engagement was (at least primarily) a result of a mystical basket (the story’s McGuffin) connecting them. They choose to separate with Jen making use of her legal expertise to assist in recovering Wyatt’s Keewazi Reservation which had been affected by the entire ordeal.

    What does this have to do with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law? Not much. There’s Jen, there’s She-Hulk, there’s the idea of a wedding, there are fights and lots of nonsense (both the good and the wrong kind). But what ultimately sticks when revisiting such a story is just how much She-Hulk eventually evolved into a proper Marvel feminist icon, and how the Marvel Studios’ show manages to address several of the same issues in a much more respectful and gracious manner. With the show having such a strong sense of self-awareness, explicitly criticizing the misogynistic trends that, particularly on social media, surround female superheroes and female-led initiatives, She-Hulk has indeed come a long way in what it can add, as a character, to not to what comics and TV are concerned, but more importantly to the general discourse.

    Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 6
    Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 6

    The first six episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law are now streaming on Disney+.

  • Debating Whether Hugh Jackman Could be the MCU’s Wolverine

    Debating Whether Hugh Jackman Could be the MCU’s Wolverine

    In what has been one of the largest blindsides of major Marvel Studios news, it’s been revealed that Hugh Jackman is returning as Wolverine for the upcoming Deadpool threequel. Naturally, fans are incredibly curious about what this may mean for the upcoming film and with Secret Wars looming, potentially beyond. Arguably the most notable talking point will be what this means for the character of Wolverine as a whole between the Hugh Jackman variant and the hypothetical future version in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the surface-level take would be to assume they’ll bring in a new actor down the road to portray some version of the character, the case can be made for Marvel Studios to actually keep Hugh Jackman in the role for a specific purpose. Let’s take a look at the cases for why and why wouldn’t Jackman become the Earth-616 version of Wolverine.

    Hugh Jackman in X-Men: Days of Future Past

    Why Hugh Jackman Wouldn’t be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Wolverine

    There are ample reasons why Hugh Jackman wouldn’t work as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s main timeline Wolverine. While the star has been synonymous with the character for over two decades, Marvel Studios would likely want to make room for a new interpretation of Wolverine. From the get-go, it would create the opportunity for the character of Wolverine to go in a different direction from the “Logan” moniker into predominately James Howlett. It’s certainly not the most important element but is emblematic of Kevin Feige’s potential desire to bring a more comic-inspired version of Wolverine to the big screen. In a world where the X-Men universe of characters will need to be distinct to stand apart from the original film adaptation, removing Wolverine’s “leading man” energy would be an easy place to start. Having Wolverine be the shortest and hairiest version possible would be a welcome change to a number of fans. 

    With that in mind, having a new actor in the role would provide significantly more creative freedom. Wolverine is someone with a rich history that hasn’t been fully told yet (even with Jackman’s many portrayals of the character) and going with a younger actor would ultimately bring more narrative opportunities for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wolverine is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel pantheon and having longevity for the role could be something paramount for Kevin Feige to consider.

    In addition, having Hugh Jackman as the mainline version of Wolverine might take away from what could be a compelling multiversal story with his character. Having an actor with the cache of Jackman returning would presumably necessitate a compelling story arc for his character. Returning for at least Deadpool III could open the door for this version of Wolverine to have a new satisfying concluding arc to him that would maybe be muddled by staying in the Marvel Cinematic Universe afterward.

    Hugh Jackman in Logan

    Why Hugh Jackman Would Work at the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Wolverine

    Alternativly, Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine could really work within the framework of the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. The main crux of this though would be the notion that the Logan version of the character is more of a supporting character to a different primary Wolverine: Laura Kinney. She has been distinctly popular with fans for a considerable amount of time, especially since Dafne Keen’s portrayal in Logan. In recent years has been seen as a marquee character in X-Men comics as an official Wolverine. Marvel Studios would be smart to at least consider striking while the iron is hot and bring in the currently-17-year-old actress to reprise her role for the long-term future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

    It would be a massive creative gamble by Marvel Studios to have Laura Kinney be the primary Wolverine of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (perhaps their largest creative risk), but it doesn’t feel like it would be completely out of the realm of possibility. It certainly guarantees an entirely new vibe from the X-Men that would be massively different from the original film adaptations by Fox. Jackman’s version of the character loomed large over essentially every project and moving him to a distinctly supporting role would allow different characters to shine on the silver screen. And if there remains a desire to see Logan in his prime, de-aging technology in film continues to advance and seeing what would appear to be a younger Hugh Jackman in action via CGI grows more possible, if it isn’t already.

    A second option for bringing in Hugh Jackman is a bit more niche, but would still drum up excitement with fans. A World War Hulk film adaptation has long been rumored to be in the offing, and it’s a film that would feel like a logical endpoint for the character of Bruce Banner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With that in mind, some of the most seminal stories for both Hulk and Wolverine that haven’t been adapted is their epic showdown in the comics. And unless there is a surprise casting of a new Wolverine in the relatively new future, Jackman would in theory be the best chance at seeing Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk fight against a Wolverine on the big screen.

    Conclusions

    With every point and counterpoint to consider, it would be very likely that Hugh Jackman wouldn’t return as Wolverine for any other projects besides Deadpool III (and potentially a cameo role in Avengers: Secret Wars). Jackman is currently 53 years old and presumably wouldn’t want to make that sort of long-term commitment, even if it was for more of a supporting role. In addition, Kevin Feige and company would likely be interested in creating their own take on the character that is distinct from what came before. Even still, it would not be entirely shocking if Marvel Studios decided to make other types of radical and unexpected differences to make their version of the X-Men stand out from the original cinematic versions.

  • ‘Blade’ Delayed Indefinitely Following Bassam Tariq’s Departure

    ‘Blade’ Delayed Indefinitely Following Bassam Tariq’s Departure

    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.

    https://twitter.com/bigscreenleaks/status/1574973513743863808

    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.

  • How ‘Werewolf By Night’ Slighted VFX in Favor of Practical Effects

    How ‘Werewolf By Night’ Slighted VFX in Favor of Practical Effects

    Marvel Studios’ first Special Presentation, Werewolf By Night, has been widely discussed as a love letter to monsters that was inspired and pays homage to the Classic Universal Monster movies of the early 20th Century. Among the first rumors about the project were that star Gael García Bernal’s lycanthrope appearance would be entirely practical in order to cement that “classic” aesthetic. In a recent interview with Phase Zero, director Michael Giacchino confirmed the rumors and detailed the work-intensive process.

    The trailer for Werewolf By Night gave fans ample opportunity to check out the look, including a portion of it where Bernal’s Jack Russell changes into the werewolf, a shot that Giacchino said took months to plan and execute.

    Now the other thing about that shot is it was all done in-camera. That’s not a visual effect, that shot. That was all done in-camera and that took months to design and figure out how we were going to do it, but Joe Farrell, our visual effects supervisor, was incredible in helping put that together. But that is almost exactly as I storyboarded that moment, exactly that… so wherever we could do practical, in-camera effects, we did it, and I would say there [are] a ton of them in there, you just would never even know.

    Michael Giacchino

    The use of practical effects absolutely paid off in setting Werewolf By Night apart from other Marvel Studios projects which rely heavily, if not entirely, on VFX. Those effects, in addition to the project being screened in black and white and the campy nature of the writing, have been among aspects of the project listed in what amounts to effusive praise for the project ahead of its October 7th release on Disney Plus. With Giacchino teasing more monsters in the future, perhaps what is old is new again and fans should prepare for a second age of practical effects!

    Source: Phase Zero

  • ‘Werewolf By Night’ May Be Paving the Way for Marvel Studios ‘Legion of Monsters’

    ‘Werewolf By Night’ May Be Paving the Way for Marvel Studios ‘Legion of Monsters’

    While it’s already been screened by select members of the media, fans around the world are just more than a week away from being able to stream Marvel Studios’ first Halloween Special, Werewolf By Night. Starring Gael García Bernal as lycanthrope Jack Russell and Laura Donnelly as monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, the nearly hour-long live-action special has been described as a love letter to monsters by director Michael Giacchino. Filmed in black and white and intended as an homage to the Universal monster movies of the 1930s and 40s, Werewolf By Night has been racking up monster reviews from those who have seen it. According to Giacchino, this special is just “peeling back the corner of monsters in the MCU” and fans can expect them to “pop up again.” And though Giacchino stopped short of revealing when and where they might pop up again, there’s one interesting potentiality with connections to several of the project’s characters: The Legion of Monsters.

    One of Giacchino’s goals with the project was to establish that “for centuries there have been monsters within the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they’ve been being tracked or hunted or kept at bay by these hunters.” Those monster hunters, including Bloodstone, are heavily featured in the trailer for the project and, from what can be gleaned from the footage, end up hunting and capturing Russell, who seems to be attempting to hide in plain sight amongst them. Giacchino also noted that there are “different species and types” of monsters, some of whom are also featured in the project either as trophies or in the artwork found on walls within the monster hunter mansion. As pointed out by Maximillian Marvel, one such creature may have made the briefest appearance in the trailer, though the identity of the monster may not be the one many have come to believe.

    Seen in the briefest of glimpses, the creature in the screenshot above has yet to be properly identified but a popular theory making its way around is that the unidentified creature is Marvel’s Nosferatu, a powerful and ancient vampire who would potentially link Werewolf By Night to Blade, Marvel Studios next “monster” project. And while that may indeed by Nosferatu, it’s worth adding another name into the mix of possibilities: Manphibian.

    Co-created in 1975 by Marvel horror master Marv Wolfman, X-Men legend Dave Cockrum and Tony Isabella and first introduced in Legion of Monsters #1, Manphibian is essentially Marvel Comics take on the classic Universal monster the Creature from the Black Lagoon. In that sense, Manphibian would make a nice trophy in a tank in a project inspired by Universal Classic Monsters (Creature from the Black Lagoon was produced and released by Universal in 1954), whereas Nosferatu is not associated with Universal. Given it’s just the briefest of glimpses, it’s hard to discern exactly who the character might be, but the creature does seem to have Manphibian’s trademark big, round eyes and a mouthful of teeth other than the two sharp teeth of Nosferatu. This is far less about “who is right and who is wrong”, however, and much more about what is possible.

    Interestingly enough, if it is Manphibian rather than Nosferatu, the character would join Werewolf By Night, Elsa Bloodstone and Man-Thing, who is said to play a key role in the project, as members of comic book Legion of Monsters who appear in the project. In a recent interview with One Take News, Giacchino name dropped another member of the team: Frankenstein’s monster. With Giacchino also insisting that Werewolf By Night is just the tip of the iceberg for Marvel monsters joining the MCU, perhaps it’s possible that rather than building up to a Midnight Sons project, as so many assume, Giacchino and Kevin Feige are planting the seed for a Legion of Monsters adaptation.

    As is the case with most of Marvel Comics “teams”, the roster of the Legion of Monsters rotated over the years as did their purpose. One potential pathway from the comics to a Legion of Monsters MCU project, however, could be the team’s pact to protect monsters from hunters out to kill them. Obviously this would have direct ties to Werewolf By Night and could even go so far as to explain why Jack Russell is posing as a hunter in the first place. WIld speculation, to be sure, but with Giacchino keen on brining more monsters into the fold and Marvel Studios loving its team ups, this one can’t necessarily be counted out. If, as Giacchino stated, monsters have inhabited the MCU for centuries there’s no reason that other Marvel monsters such as Frankenstein’s monster, N’Kantu the Living Mummy and even Simon Garth/Zombie couldn’t “pop up” and everyone is already expecting Dracula. Let’s just hope it’s not too late for poor Manphibian!

    Source: Interview with Michael Giacchino courtesy of The Direct

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Blade’ Recruits ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Scribe Beau DeMayo

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Blade’ Recruits ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Scribe Beau DeMayo

    Beau DeMayo is becoming a go-to-guy for Marvel Studios. Part of the writer’s room for Moon Knight and the head writer and executive producer of X-Men ’97, the revival of the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series, it looks like DeMayo may have joined the crew of one of Marvel Studios’ most anticipated feature films, Blade.

    While Disney has not commented officially on it, DeMayo has taken up temporary residence in Atlanta where Blade is in pre-production. In a recent Instagram post first pointed out by a Murphy’s Multiverse Discord patron, DeMayo showed off the Atlanta skyline from what he called his “new office.” While there are other Marvel projects underway, as a writer DeMayo would almost certainly not be joining one that was already deep into production. After running through the possible scenarios, Blade becomes the only logical choice. The start of principal filming has been delayed several times, recently pushed from an October kickoff to November, potentially allowing DeMayo a pass at the script.

    Stacy Osei-Kuffour was brought on as the film’s writer in February of 2021 and the studio had originally intended to begin production in late Summer of 2022 ahead of the project’s November 3, 2023 release date. Looking back at the bread crumbs, it’s likely that DeMayo has been attached to the project for a month or two now to polish up an already finished script by Osei-Kuffor rather than completely rewrite the story. Having multiple writers take a pass at movie scripts has become a fairly common practice at Marvel Studios, using the opportunity to take advantage of the strengths of different writers. Having DeMayo in Atlanta as pre-production gets underway is entirely in line with Marvel Studios’ past precedent and gives the new writer time to work intensely and closely with the film’s cast and crew to ensure the script is tight before filming begins. At this point, there’s no expectation of the film’s release date being delayed, keeping it on track for a late-2023 release.

  • REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Runtime Makes It the MCU’s Second Longest Film

    REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Runtime Makes It the MCU’s Second Longest Film

    The final film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may be one of Marvel Studios’ longest features to date. According to new listings on the Cineplex and Regal websites, the Ryan Coogler-directed sequel will be 161 minutes (two hours and 41 minutes) long. If true, that runtime makes it the longest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Avengers: Endgame, which ran over three hours.

    While still unconfirmed, a longer runtime could suggest that Wakanda Forever is taking its time to explore a larger story amidst the heavy nature of the film stemming from the passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. According to the film’s synopsis, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje fight to protect Wakanda from intervening world powers as the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, along with War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). Tenoch Huerta will be making his appearance in the MCU as Namor, and the sequel also features Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, ahead of the Ironheart Disney+ series.

    While runtimes ultimately say quite little about the contents of a film, fans love to speculate. Before they were released, Eternals was deemed too long and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was deemed too short by those on social media. If Wakanda Forever does end up being the longest non-Avengers film in the MCU, it could be the result of a packed storyline, a slower-paced narrative, or both. In any event, the filmmakers likely took their time crafting the emotional follow-up to the iconic Black Panther.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022.

    Source: Cineplex and Regal

  • ‘Werewolf By Night’ Director Michael Giacchino Addresses Rumors of an Appearance by Blade

    ‘Werewolf By Night’ Director Michael Giacchino Addresses Rumors of an Appearance by Blade

    There’s only one thing that fans of the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe love more than the half-dozen or more projects that Marvel Studios puts out each year: rumors. The online dialogue about which characters might cameo in Marvel’s next project has grown to the point where fans often find themselves more excited about a character cameo than they are about the project’s lead character. Unfortunately, due to bogus rumors, changes during production and just plain poor theorizing, fans often find themselves frustrated when the thing they’ve imagined in their head doesn’t materialize in said project.

    One such project that seems to have been the focus of just that type of speculation for quite some time now is the upcoming Marvel Studios Halloween Special, Werewolf By Night. It seems like every character from the horror corner of Marvel Comics from Blade, to Ghost Rider to Vampire By Night, has been discussed as possibly appearing in the project all while overlooking the titular character and the rest of the crew.

    Following his voice-only cameo in Eternals, fans have been particularly eager to pin down Mahershala Ali’s next appearance as the aforementioned Daywalker and Werewolf By Night certainly became a sensible focal point of speculation for that appearance. Over the past several months, rumors first swirled that Ali’s character would indeed show up in the project; then, more recently, that due to scheduling conflicts, he would not. In an interview with One Take News, director Michael Giacchino was asked about those rumors and it turns out he’s been paying attention to the online discourse.

    You know what, rumors are insanely inaccurate I would say…99.9% of the time. The thing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is everyone thinks that every single thing is going to be connected. EVERY single thing. And it doesn’t mean that we’re not connected. But, I didn’t feel the need to blatantly say we were.

    Michael Giacchino

    We’ve run the numbers and it turns out Giacchino’s percentage is actually a little on the low side of things. And while the director didn’t ACTUALLY address whether or not Blade was on track to appear, he did go on to explain that part of what drew him to developing Werewolf By Night was the the character could exist in isolation in the comics and didn’t need to be a part of every event.

    You know, every other show has done that and they’ve done it brilliantly and I thought “you know what?”, when I was a kid, I would pull a comic off the shelf and this particular Werewolf By Night issue had nothing to do with anything else in the Marvel Universe. What’s wrong with that? That’s okay! You know, they can all live together but we don’t need to always show them together. You know, let’s have a moment where we’re dealing with this. One of the shows that was a huge influence for me growing up was The Twilight Zone and what I loved about it was each one was its own thing and each story was something that you had to think about for days afterwards and I said “Let’s do that! Let’s just worry about this”. You know, in the future, who knows? We’ll see where the characters go, we’ll see where we take them but for now, let’s just worry about this one thing right here.

    Michael Giacchino

    Was Blade supposed to be in it? We don’t know. But we do know that he is not and that according to all the first reactions to the project, Giacchino seems to have made exactly the type of project he set out to: one that stands among the crowd of “Marvel formula” projects and that exists within its own little pocket of a much larger universe.

    Werewolf By Night debuts on Disney Plus on Octobrer 7th.

    Source: One Take News

  • REVIEW: ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 6

    REVIEW: ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 6

    She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has now revealed two-thirds of its nine-episode season. While Episode 6 was a proclaimed “self-contained wedding episode,” it was actually one of the most significant episodes in the series’ second act in terms of moving the ball. Albeit through teases, the serious end game of She-Hulk is becoming somewhat more clear despite the insistence that each week is unique to itself. The sixth episode was strong in the same areas the show has been strong: humor, absurdity, and Tatiana Maslany. But its ending cannot help but signpost that the series’ third act may be drastically different from what we have seen.

    First, the wedding plot was enjoyable, and it managed to incorporate several different unrelated elements into one space. Of course, Jen’s delicate relationship to herself as She-Hulk is prominent, but her dating life, professional success, and feelings of not being recognized or valued enough all play a major role. On top of that, Titania manages to stay involved, fan-favorite cousin Ched gets more screentime, and Patti Harrison is just a general gift in pretty much any project.

    What was perhaps most interesting about the wedding stems from the fact that it remained noticeably vague and we have not seen it end. Of course, the mysterious guy Jen connects with seems to be a prime candidate for Thunderball, the member of the Wrecking Crew we met in Episode 3. The fact that he seems to know the wedding party raises interesting questions as to who else in Jen’s life is in on the ultimate scheme to get her blood. The actual groom of the wedding was never revealed or shown, so it seems like there is a strong chance that the reveal could be significant. Still, if it is a “self-contained” episode, that would imply the wedding plot does not have much more to it, but yet it absolutely seems as though several major villains are lurking (or, in Titania’s case, very openly present) in the event.

    Given that it seems obvious that getting Jen’s blood is the goal of the mysterious “super” villain behind the scenes of She-Hulk, Titania is shaping up to be quite the assistant for the more scientifically-associated (“Science Villain”) teased villain. Titania has her own personal grudge against Jen (and their battle was almost comics-worthy), but her presence at the suspicious wedding suggests that she may also be in on a larger plot. It is in Titania’s comic book nature to work with other villains, including the Wrecking Crew. In her comic book origin story, she was more or less created by Dr. Doom. Perhaps the Science Villain is who gave her her superstrength in the first place. And if, as the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to hint at, the Science Villain is all about hulks, what is to say Titania is not a result of related experiments?

    The speculation of who the Science Villain could be at this point is relatively mundane given the eventual return of Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader in Captain America: New World Order, but She-Hulk could always surprise. Of course, fans are still anxiously awaiting Daredevil’s arrival, and how he will fit in is still somewhat mysterious. Will he be mostly in a legal plot, or will he be a major force in helping Jen take on the final threat? It could be both, but one thing is certain—Charlie Cox is not in this episode. In any event, despite some posturing, it is hard to imagine that She-Hulk does not have significant ramifications on the wider universe after the end of the series. Even just the fact that Jen leaves a voicemail for space Bruce is making a point about other huge stories going on in this series’ orbit.

    Outside of the main agenda, the B-plot with Mr. Immortal was the type of charming that only She-Hulk can deliver. It gave Nikki and Mallory more time to shine in their own rights, and Nikki as a character seems to consistently deliver more each episode. The series is able to tap into strange, funny, and out-of-pocket concepts from the comics without having to make a major statement on the MCU. In another project, the introduction of Mr. Immortal might have had greater ramifications. Here, it was a way to send a teasing love note to the type of source material that mostly does not make it into live-action. Still, the amount of superhumans occupying Earth-616 is clearly vastly more than anyone would have guessed before She-Hulk, and that may still have at least indirect implications going into Phases 5 and 6.

    As She-Hulk finishes its second act, it is only clear that its own universe is expanding rapidly. While it still at times feels inconsistent or choppier than needed given the episodic structure, it delivers a unique charm and experience that no other MCU project has, and it does so through its overall tone but also its little details. Enjoying comicbook-y material, having multiple developed women characters, diving into humor a bit off-kilter than the MCU is used to, and taking an incredibly fun and bold swing at the series all pay off for She-Hulk. Those elements are as present in Episode 6 as ever. Still, it is a disservice to not call out the “self-contained wedding episode” as being one of the most plot-fluid episodes yet. The real villains are about to appear, and the superhero part of this MCU show is surely about to take off with it.