Tag: Marvel Studios

  • Danai Gurira Reveals Ryan Coogler’s ‘Kung-Fu’ Plan for Okoye’s Post-‘Wakanda Forever’ Future

    Danai Gurira Reveals Ryan Coogler’s ‘Kung-Fu’ Plan for Okoye’s Post-‘Wakanda Forever’ Future

    Danai Gurira ‘s Okoye’s journey through the MCU has been as rough as anyone’s. Following T’Chaka’s death in Captain America: Civil War Okoye was present for T’Challa’s defeat at the hands of Killmonger in Black Panther. She then found herself on opposite sides of her husband in the fight for the throne. Thanos’ snap took another Wakandan King from the Dora Milaje General and though the Avengers’ battle against the Mad Titan resulted in T’Challa’s return, fate cruelly took him again, this time permanently, prior to the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. T’Challa’s death was followed by the abduction of Princess Shuri which led to Okoye’s dismissal as General at the command of Queen Ramonda who was killed by Namor a short time later.

    With little left to lose, Okoye rolled the dice and wore one of a pair of prototype Midnight Angel armors created by Shuri to aid in the battle against Talokan. As Wakanda Forever came to a close, Okoye used the armor to help free Everett Ross from custody, indicating that whatever the future holds for Okoye, it’s likely going to be tied to the powerful suit. That nebulous future might have something to do with one of the World of Wakanda spinoffs reportedly in the works. It’s long been thought that Gurira’s character would be the focus of one of those spinoffs and according to the actress, Okoye’s arc in Wakanda Forever originally ended in a way that set her character up to go on a journey of self-discovery.

    During a round of 20 questions with Deadline, Gurira told the outlet Okoye’s final moments in Wakanda Forever were meant to set her off to walk the Earth like David Carradine‘s Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu. Gurira relayed that the original ending of the film saw Okoye in Haiti with Nakia, T’Challa II and Shuri. As Okoye parted ways with the group, Shuri inquired about her future asking, “Are you going back to the Dora?“My character says no.” continued Gurira, “and [Shuri] said, ‘Where are you going to go?’ and I was like, ‘Wherever my blue suit takes me,’ and she just walks off.” Gurira called the scene between Shuri and Okoye a “beautiful moment” and went on to describe director Ryan Coogler’s vision of what the future holds for the character.

    [Coogler] was saying it’s like that kung fu show, where the guy just walked the earth. She just walks off. We don’t know where Okoye’s going. And she’s sort of letting go. She was fighting to keep that position, and then she lets it go. That’s kind of her arc, that she lets go. And we don’t know where that leads to.

    Danai Gurira

    Whatever the MCU future for Okoye turns out to be, it may be some time before fans see it. Executive Producer Nate Moore revealed that the Wakandan spinoff series is “probably not as far along as people want it to be” and Gurira has a full slate of Walking Dead-related projects ahead over the next few years. However, given Coogler’s passion for developing the World of Wakanda, there will certainly be more adventures including its characters while fans wait for the return of Okoye and her “blue suit.”

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 2, Havok

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 2, Havok

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts.

    The X-Factor

    One of Fox’s most mysterious decisions in rebooting their own X-Men franchise in 2011’s X-Men: First Class was the choice to make Alex Summers the older brother of Scott and a member of Xavier’s first team of X-Men only to sideline him fairly quickly. Without being able to access the depths of Simon Kinberg’s mind, it’s impossible to know why Alex was underutilized but it really just seemed like Fox didn’t have a long-term plan for him. That’s good news for Marvel Studios because it allows them to make the easy choice to introduce Alex alongside Scott and then set him on his own path; a path that sets him on course to become the leader of his own team: X-Factor.

    Telling the best version of Alex’s story means having him separated from Scott. Rather than being given the advantages provided to Scott by Xavier, Alex’s struggles with his self-confidence and his emerging powers result in an alpha-level mutant whose lack of control makes him fairly dangerous. Ultimately though, like Scott, Alex is a born leader and allowing him to grow into his powers and then put together his own team would be a fantastic way to set him apart from Lucas Till’s forgettable version.

    Among its many failures, foremost of Fox’s foul-ups was that it never allowed its X-Men universe to grow and evolve beyond the core X-Men teams. The comics are loaded with mutant teams outside of the X-Men: X-Force, Excalibur, Generation X, hell even X-Statix all exist. Other than the brief assemblage of X-Force in Deadpool 2 and the ill-fated New Mutants, Fox stayed away from these teams. That means Marvel Studios can (and almost certainly will) dive headlong into developing them and Havok’s X-Factor should be one of the first and most important. While the team was originally just Scott’s X-Men working with the government, Alex put his own squad together and that squad is among the most memorable and powerful versions of X-Factor to have existed.

    Marvel Studios would be wise to let Alex grow into a leader of X-Factor and ultimately come into opposition to his brother and his more authoritarian approach to leadership. Though the brothers can’t harm one another with their powers, they could certainly go toe-to-toe and break out the fisticuffs should Havok still be around long enough to see his brother cause a schism among mutantkind. Marvel Studios certainly loves brother vs. brother drama. Beyond that, a Havok-led X-Factor team provides a fantastic way to grow the mutant-corner of the MCU beyond the adventures of the core and introduce some other incredibly important characters who were criminally underused by Fox: Polaris and Jamie Madrox. Whatever it is Marvel Studios has planned for the mutants, they should certainly make room for a proper portrayal of Alex Summers.

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 1, Cyclops

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 1, Cyclops

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts.

    The First X-Man

    No character took it on the chin harder during Fox’s reign of terror with the X-Men than Scott Summers. The original trilogy sideline James Marsden‘s version and the Simon Kinberg films reduced him to a guy who just screamed an awful lot. A properly planned out X-Men franchise within a franchise should take Scott Summers on a 10-year arc from Xavier’s yes-man to a controversial mutant revolutionary. Anything less is doing the character yet another disservice.

    One of the easiest ways for Marvel Studios to set their vision for the X-Men apart from Fox’s is to put Scott, in fact, the entire Summers family, at the center of it. One way to ensure the Summers become integral to the future of the X-Men in the MCU is by introducing them and telling their story through a Starjammers trilogy. The first film could introduce Christopher and Katherine Sommers and their two, young sons, Scott and Alex, tell the tragic story of their separation, and tell parallel stories in space and on Earth. On Earth, Scott and Alex end up in an orphanage and come under the care of Doctor Essex, setting up a villain in Mister Sinister that Fox failed to capitalize on.

    In the comics, Sinister took a great interest in Scott Sommers and believed that the child of Scott and Jean Grey would perhaps be one of the most powerful mutants to ever live. Starting Scott’s MCU story at a young age and including the connection to Sinister would put the spotlight on the Sommers’ line and set up an ongoing antagonist who could cause all sorts of problems over a decade of X-Men stories. Of course, that’s only a part of Scott’s potential MCU story.

    The real work ahead for Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios Parliament is to find a way to evolve Scott over the course of 6 or so films. Cyclops is a divisive character in the comics and while they certainly won’t go beat for beat in adapting him to the MCU, they should certainly take inspiration from his journey over the years. Introducing Scott as a strong, young leader of the X-Men who whole-heartedly believes in Charles Xavier’s dream and then setting him on a path to develop his own, radical ideas about what Xavier’s dream really should be and ultimately rebel against Xavier would present a compelling character arc. After doing so much to save humanity time and time again, Cyclops became convinced that humanity would never accept them. It’s a lost opportunity for the MCU if at some point in time in Cyclops’ story, they don’t find a way to work in one of the most popular Marvel Comics memes ever: Cyclops was right!

  • Hugh Jackman Reveals Timeframe, Teases Plot of ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Film

    Hugh Jackman Reveals Timeframe, Teases Plot of ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Film

    It’s Christmas time and as far as information about the third film in the Deadpool franchise is concerned, Hugh Jackman is the gift that keeps on giving. Details about upcoming Marvel Studios projects are usually closely guarded secrets as the actors involved with those projects are coached up on what not to say. It looks like Jackman either skipped the training or doesn’t really care about norms, because he’s already let a couple of details about the Deadpool and Wolverine film slip and he’s just done it again.

    As a guest on episode #546 of the Empire Film Podcast, Jackman let a pair of juicy details loose that can be extrapolated into some potentially important details. Fans have wondered how the Deadpool and Wolverine team-up would work given Wolverine died in 2017’s Logan. According to Jackman, the events of the new MCU film will take place before Logan. With Marvel Studios in the middle of their Multiverse Saga, that’s no small spoiler and actually leaves quite a bit to unpack. As Jackman let slip recently, Deadpool 3 will involve time travel which means it’s possible that Deadpool will go back in time before Wolverine’s death and pluck him out of the timeline for their adventure. Such a choice might possibly be a Nexus Event and create a branch from the timeline. Even if Logan returns to his timeline, the adventure he and Wade go on in Deadpool 3 might end up causing a cascade of Nexus Events.

    Jackman‘s description of that adventure makes the Deadpool and Wolverine film sound an awful lot like a classic buddy cop film with the focus on just how annoying Wade is to Logan.

    Logan’s frustrated by him, wants to be a million miles away from him or wants to punch him in the head. Unfortunately, he can’t be a million miles away from him so I’m probably going to punch him in the head a lot.

    Hugh Jackman

    Of course, seeing Logan’s patience with Wade wear thin over the course of the film won’t necessarily be a surprise; Wade wears on everyone. However, it also opens up ample opportunities for Logan to punch, stab, dismember and otherwise hurt Wade which should make for some potentially memorable violence that should make fans of the R-rated Fox Deadpool and Logan films happy.

    Jackman’s comments also confirm that whatever the plot of the film is (one popular theory is that it will be an adaptation of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe in which Deadpool and Logan visit the universes of non-Marvel Studios Marvel projects and kill off the characters), he and Ryan Reynold’s Merc with a Mouth will be making their way through it together. Just how that might play out is unknown, but if Deadpool needed someone to help him kill off dozens of heroes, he’d certainly at least try to reach out to Logan who is, of course, the best he is at what he does.

    With nearly two years before the release of the currently untitled film, there’s plenty of time left for Jackman to continue to feed the audience little tidbits about the film. Despite Marvel Studio’s strict policy around allowing any details about future projects out, details like what Jackman has been revealing often do nothing other than increase hype for those projects. Maybe the studio could learn a thing or two from how leaks built hype for Spider-Man: No Way Home and let Jackman work as a one-man hype crew for the film.

    Source: Empire Podcast

  • Major X-Men Location Rumored to Already Exist in the MCU, Serve as Key Setting for Upcoming Films

    Major X-Men Location Rumored to Already Exist in the MCU, Serve as Key Setting for Upcoming Films

    Marvel Studios has owned the live-action rights to the X-Men for over three years and while they haven’t chosen to introduce any of the major characters associated with the team into the MCU, they have started to sprinkle in some bits and pieces that are connected. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier introduced the lawless location of Madripoor to the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured a Multiversal Variant of Charles Xavier, Kamala Khan’s powers in Ms. Marvel were discovered to be the result of a mutation and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Namor, the MCU’s first mutant (at least for now). Now, a fascinating new rumor suggests they slipped another mutant-related breadcrumb into the MCU without anyone noticing and may change the way audiences look at Eternals.

    New information from insider Daniel RPK suggests that a major mutant location already exists in the MCU and will serve as a key setting in two 2024 films. The new rumor claims that the corpse of the Celestial Tiamut has become an island called Genosha and will be featured in Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts.

    Fans of X-Men comics will recognize Genosha immediately and likely have a visceral response. Located in the Indian Ocean, Genosha played a major role in the comics for well over a decade, first as an island full of mutant slaves, then as the first attempt at a mutant nation on Earth and ultimately as the site of the massacre which killed 16.5 million mutant inhabitants of the island.

    Rumors point to Tiamut’s corpse/Genosha, which is indeed located in the Indian Ocean, serving a key role in Captain America: New World Order as governments of the world learn of the presence of Adamantium in or on the island. Then, in Thunderbolts, the titular team will be sent to Genosha to procure the precious metal. The Thunderbolts going in after Adamantium lines up with CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s obsession with Vibranium, as seen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and establishing Tiamut/Genosha as a geopolitical hotspot due to its natural resources sets it up to be a key locale in the future of the MCU. Other rumors point to Thunderbolts also serving to show that Super Soldier research is ongoing and it becomes fairly easy to connect the dots from Super Solider research to Adamantium to Weapon X down the road.

  • ‘Black Panther’ Star Believes a Recast of T’Challa is Inevitable

    ‘Black Panther’ Star Believes a Recast of T’Challa is Inevitable

    As Black Panther: Wakanda Forever approaches the end of its exclusive theatrical window, those who persevered in making the film despite the loss of Chadwick Boseman have continued to share their thoughts on how the film evolved following the actor’s death. Winston Duke, whose M’Baku grew to be a close and trusted ally of Boseman‘s T’Challa, has emerged as a rising star in Hollywood and the conclusion of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever leaves his character in an incredibly important position: as the new King of Wakanda. While M’Baku holds the throne, for now, Duke isn’t afraid to peer pragmatically into the future.

    In an interview with Esquire, Duke talked in depth about the passing of his friend, how it shaped the sequel and what he believes the future of the character to be. In Duke‘s mind, it’s not a matter of if Marvel Studios will recast the role of T’Challa, made famous by Boseman, it’s a matter of when.

    There’s no way they’ll never remake Black Panther in the future. There’s no way that the saga and interpretation of T’Challa, King of Wakanda, will end. He is canon. So trust that it’ll come. But allow this to be a human experience.

    Winston Duke

    While the near future of the cinematic iteration of the World of Wakanda would seem to be prepared to focus on former Dora Milaje General Okoye and the son of T’Challa and heir to the throne of Wakanda introduced in Wakanda Forever, Duke‘s comments are likely in line with some longer-term plans of Marvel Studios. The Multiverse Saga is currently set to wrap up in 2026 with Avengers: Secret Wars, a film that will almost certainly involve familiar heroes from different timelines who may, in some cases, be portrayed by unfamiliar actors. Given that possibility, it’s not hard to imagine Marvel Studios taking the opportunity to cast another actor as T’Challa, a move that would, in a way, not strictly be a recast but still provide the opportunity for more stories about one of Marvel Comics most well-developed characters to be told. Future stories in the MCU could see T’Challa interacting with Reed Richards, Storm and Namor, characters with whom a rich comic book history as been developed. As Duke said, T’Challa “is canon”, but allowing Boseman’s friends and family to go through their own “human experience” rightly took precedent over cinematic stories.

    Source: Esquire

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Has a Big Advantage Over Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Has a Big Advantage Over Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’

    As Charlie Cox makes the media rounds to hype his upcoming Netflix spy thriller, Treason, he’s spending quite a bit of time answering questions all about another project of his: Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Daredevil: Born Again. The highly-anticipated and ambitious 18-episode series will see Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil take the lead in a project for the first time since bringing the character to the MCU and for the first time since Netflix’s Daredevil was canceled following its third season.

    In the months since the new series was announced, Cox has made it clear that Born Again won’t be a continuation of the Netflix series, calling it a “whole new deal and indicating that Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, “has been very clear about it being Season 1, not a Season 4.” He’s also made it clear that fans should expect the Disney Plus series to “tell some of the stories over and over again, in the same way that they do in the comics,” including, potentially, the character’s origin story making it very clear that Marvel Studios has plans to put their own, distinct mark on the character in order to set it apart from the Netflix series that was made without input from them.

    While speaking to Metro UK, Cox related that one big advantage the Disney Plus series will have over the Netflix one is that by being set within the MCU, it has “opened to door” for potential appearances of literally thousands of comic book characters that could never have appeared on Daredevil.

    I don’t know anything. I haven’t read anything from any scripts. So I don’t know. I have no idea. But the only thing that’s fun going forward for the Daredevil show is that of course when we were on Netflix, we didn’t have the opportunity to really have the crossovers other than the characters that we knew we had in that Netflix Marvel world.

    Charlie Cox

    For Cox, the possibility of characters crossing over into Daredevil: Born Again carries a lot of excitement with it because it brings the experience of the show closer to that of reading Daredevil comics, of which Cox is a big fan.

    Now that door is wide open to all sorts of possibilities and that, for me, as someone who’s become a great fan of the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s really exciting that that door is open and that we can have cameos from other characters that we couldn’t before.

    Charlie Cox

    Of course, unlike the Netflix series, Daredevil comics aren’t all dark, bloody and brooding. In fact, in the comics, Daredevil often finds himself squaring off with ridiculous villains with ridiculous gimmicks. As it turns out, one such character, who Cox refers to as a “ludicrous villain”, is high on the actor’s wishlist to appear in Born Again.

    The one I occasionally joke about – but I probably shouldn’t, because I don’t envision a world where it’s actually realistic that he shows up in our show – but I’ve always thought it’d be funny if Stilt-Man showed up. It’s such a ludicrous superhero, such a ludicrous villain that I just think it’d be funny if we found a way of doing that without it massively denting our credibility as an authentic truthful superhero show.

    Charlie Cox

    Should Cox’s advocacy for Stilt-Man result in the character actually appearing in Daredevil: Born Again, the beloved actor will have played a major role in fulfilling the childhood dreams of many a fan of Daredevil comics. Charlie Cox, Man of the People.

    Source: Metro

  • Charlie Cox Ready for More Fun with She-Hulk in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Charlie Cox Ready for More Fun with She-Hulk in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Charlie Cox‘s work as Matt Murdock and Daredevil in the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law put an all-new, all-different spin on the character. For fans of the Netflix show, the carefree and funny Daredevil was a far cry from the morosity of the character in that series that they didn’t readily accept; for Cox, it was an enjoyable turn and one, it seems, he might like to revisit again.

    Following his brief appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Murdock is expected to next show up in Echo before getting back in the business of being the main focus of a series in Daredevil: Born Again, currently set to stream in 2024. Born Again, which was announced as one, 18-episode series starts production in February 2023 and is rumored to have its fair share of cameos and guest stars. In a new interview with Metro UK, Cox revealed that one guest star he’d like to see make the cut is She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany.

    I’ve made it no secret that I’m a huge fan of Tatiana’s and the fun we had on She-Hulk was some of the best fun I’ve had as that character,” said Cox. “I thought she was amazing as Jennifer Walters,” he continued, “and I would be a huge… certainly an advocate of her showing up in our show if she’s free and available and willing and all of those things. So I would love for that to happen. I have no idea if that is possible.”

    The two certainly shared a fun, onscreen chemistry in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and seeing Jen step into Murdock’s world of Hell’s Kitchen would present the opportunity for an intriguing contrast to their time together in San Francisco. As Cox points out, the possibility of such an appearance isn’t really up to him and while Maslany’s future in the MCU isn’t in question when her character appears next absolutely is. However, with Born Again filming for the majority of 2023, maybe the actress can find some time in her schedule to fit a few days of filming in.

    Source: Metro UK

  • Charlie Cox Has Disappointing News for Fans of Netflix’s Broody, Bloody ‘Daredevil’

    Charlie Cox Has Disappointing News for Fans of Netflix’s Broody, Bloody ‘Daredevil’

    Charlie Cox couldn’t be more excited about continuing to portray Matt Murdock and Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After bringing the dual personalities to life in 2015 on the Netflix streaming series Daredevil, which was canceled after 3 seasons, Cox was given new life as the character when Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, reached out ahead of production on 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    Kevin Feige called and said, ‘We’d like to bring you into the MCU’”, said Cox of the fateful call in an interview with NME. “I was over the moon,” said the star. “I love this character.” That call ended with Cox agreeing to cameos in No Way Home and the 2022 streaming series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. Beyond that, Cox’s future as the character was undefined. That’s all changed now as Cox is scheduled for a fairly large role in the Disney Plus streaming series Echo ahead of starring alongside Vincent D’Onofrio in the 18-episode streamer, Daredevil: Born Again.

    Cox’s appearance in She-Hulk, where he played the character as “quick-witted and funny and charismatic and carefree at times“, according to Cox, probably isn’t the template for the character going forward. Cox knows that fans of Netflix’s Daredevil loved the brooding, bloody and brutal tone of the show, but he also knows this new series is headed for Disney Plus. “My opinion is this character works best when he’s geared toward a slightly more mature audience,” said Cox, while cautioning, “my instinct is that on Disney+ it will be dark but it probably won’t be as gory.” So what exactly is Daredevil: Born Again going to shape up to be?

    Cox has gone on record before, calling Daredevil: Born Again a “whole new deal, a sentiment he reiterated to NME. “This has to be a reincarnation,” said Cox of Born Again. “It has to be different, otherwise why are we doing it?” So what should the fans who fell in love with the iteration of the character whose story was told over 3 seasons on Netflix? “I would say to those people, we’ve done that. Let’s take the things that really worked, but can we broaden? Can we appeal to a slightly younger audience without losing what we’ve learned about what works?

    That’s not exactly encouraging news for fans of the TV-MA version of the character; however, it’s consistent with what Cox has been saying all along.

    Source: NME

  • Charlie Cox Confirms Intense ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Filming Schedule

    Charlie Cox Confirms Intense ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Filming Schedule

    Daredevil: Born Again will be Marvel Studios’ first project featuring Charlie Cox‘s Matt Murdock as a lead character, and we are all for it. Following the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’s appearance as his lawyer persona in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the costumed Daredevil made got his first taste of MCU action in the 2022 series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. In the show, Matt headed to the West Coast to defend superhero tailor Luke Jacobson.

    At the German Comic Con, Cox expressed much anticipation about appearing in further MCU projects, such as Daredevil: Born Again, and teased a possible appearance in the third installment in the Deadpool trilogy, saying “I think there’s a place for Daredevil to show up in Deadpool.”

    In October, DiscussingFilm founder Jacob Fisher went on Twitter to share news regarding Daredevil: Born Again‘s production. He reported that “the series is planning to begin filming in February and last for pretty much the entire year”, which was unsurprising, considering that the series will span 18 episodes.

    Daredevil: Born Again
    Charlie Cox stars as Matt Murdock/ Daredevil in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. ©2022 Marvel.

    In an interview with NME, Charlie Cox talked about returning as the Man Without Fear. He confirmed the filming schedule for Born Again, stating this:

    “They said to me, ‘We’re going to be shooting in 2023’, I said, ‘Great, when?’ They said, ‘All 2023’. I start shooting in February and finish in December.”

    Charlie Cox, via NME

    Daredevil: Born Again will be one of Marvel Studios’ lone projects to film in New York, rather than Atlanta. This makes set media more probable, which will definitely reveal more about where Matt heads in this series. Daredevil: Born Again is currently expected to stream on Disney Plus in 2024.

    Source: NME