Convention season is upon us and as it begins to ramp into high gear, studio plans for the biggest fan convention of the year are once again a hot topic. Last year, Marvel Studios kept a lid on whether or not they’d even attend SDCC ’22 for quite some time, with One Above All Kevin Feige waiting until late June to confirm. While the Feigster has yet to comment on the studios plans for the 2023 convention, which will run from July 19-23, it looks like MCU fans can start planning out their Saturday night.
In response to a Tweet from the #WeSavedDaredevil account, Daredevil: Born Again star Vincent D’Onoforio has revealed that he co-star Charlie Cox will “definitely” be at SDCC ’23.
We will definitely be there.
— Vincent D'Onofrio (@vincentdonofrio) June 5, 2023
Secret Invasion looks to stand apart from the usual MCU fare by shifting the focus away from its powered heroes and toward the shadowy world of spies. While that means that Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury is at the center, he’s not alone which means that this Ultimate List is quite a bit busier than most. If you want to get your homework done before Secret Invasion‘s June 21st premiere, you better get started.
Tier One
Tier One projects are non-negotiable essentials to be watched/re-watched before streaming Secret Invasion. If you want to understand what’s happening, these six projects–listed in chronological order– lay the foundation.
Captain Marvel
While the next chapter in Carol Danvers’ story will be told in The Marvels, which hits theaters in November, Secret Invasion is every bit of a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel as well. The film introduced Talos and his refugee Skrulls–including his daughter, G’iah– to the MCU and set the stage for Fury’s relationship with them. As explained by Emilia Clarke, the faction of Skrulls looking to take over the Earth are sick and tired of waiting for Fury and Talos to make good on the promise of finding them a home world which is essentially what’s going on in Captain Marvel making that one a must on the rewatch.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Who do you trust? If you’re Nick Fury, you don’t trust too many folks at all. The Winter Soldier tore Fury’s life to shreds but he escaped and rose from the ashes like the fiery phoenix with an eye on taking down Hydra. Though she’s not featured in it, The Winter Soldier goes a long way in revealing just how much Fury trusts Maria Hill, who is set to play a big role in Secret Invasion. It also provides all sorts of opportunities for Fury to have been simmed and replaced by a Skrull, so if you’re rewatching it, try it through that lense and see how it might change the film for you.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Though Fury doesn’t play a pivotal role in the Avengers’ defeat of Ultron, the second Avengers film goes a long way in revealing just how little anyone really knows about Fury and just how capable he is of pulling off major surprises. If he helped hide the Bartons from the world and can happen to full a Hellicarrier out of thin air, what other surprises does Fury have up his sleeve? Or is that even Fury’s sleeve?
Captain America: Civil War
James Rhodes’ MCU story has truly been fascinating but the events of Civil War altered the trajectory of the character’s arc more than any project to date. After joining the New Avengers following the events of Age of Ultron, Rhodey found himself on the wrong end of a tragic accident that certainly made him rethink which type of suit he’d like to spend the rest of his life in. Obviously, he went on to help save the world because that’s what heroes do, but by the time Secret Invasion rolls around it seems as though he’s looking to step out of the armor for good. Or is he? Or is it even him?
Spider-Man: Far From Home
The post-credit scene to Far From Home is quite possibly more important to the ongoing narrative of the MCU than the entire body of the film. The revelation that Talos and his wife, Soren, had been simming Fury and Hill while Nick was on space vacation–meaning an entire movie’s worth of Fury events didn’t include Fury–should make us all question whatever we think it is we know about the MCU. This certainly wasn’t the first time Talos posed as Nick…and it certainly won’t be the last.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
All we know so far about Everett Ross’ role in Secret Invasion is that he’s sneaking around in the shadows as one of Fury’s allies. And while you might think all you’d need to know is how he escaped government custody at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the additional backstory that film provides for him is worth the watch.
Tier Two
Once you’ve seen the Tier One projects, you’d be just fine settling in for Secret Invasion without feeling lost. That said, if you’ve got the time to dig deeper and get a little more context on the not-quite-necessary-but-still-important events in the main characters’ lives, the Ultimate List will point you in the right direction.
Avengers: Infinity War
The beginning of a two-film arc in which audiences really got to see Cheadle elevate the role of Rhodey, Infinity War comes close to a Tier One project but falls a tad short. Rhodes’ dismissal of General Ross’ order should have cost him his USAF career but it didn’t seem to derail it at all given where he is as Secret Invasion begins.
Avengers: Endgame
The Russos carved out a pretty meaty role for War Machine here and it’s by far one of Cheadle’s most enjoyable performances in the role. From tossing around the idea of killing baby Thanos to helping retrieve the Power Stone during the Time Heist, Endgame gives Rhodey a ton to do even if none of it seems to really be impactful in setting the stage for Secret Invasion.
Tier Three
If the completist in you is telling you to watch them all, then we encourage you to do so.
Iron Man
The beginning of James Rhodes’ MCU journey, Iron Man introduces the character as one of Tony Stark’s best buddies. Played here by Terrence Howard, Rhodey is constantly frustrated with Tony but can’t seem to say no to the guy. The film also marks the MCU debut of Nicholas J. Fury as he begins the work of assembling his Avengers by sneaking into Tony Stark’s Malibu mansion.
Iron Man 2
Don Cheadle stepped in as Rhodey in the 2010 sequel which is only really worth watching to track the character’s work with the U.S. Government, which is a major plot point in Secret Invasion.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Part of Nick Fury’s MCU story, Captain America: The First Avenger gave a very fair impression of the lengths The Spy would go to in order to sell a lie.
The Avengers
One of the best MCU films to date, The Avengers is worth watching at any point in time; however, it paints a very murky picture of Fury and just how willing he is to keep secrets from anyone and everyone. The project also marks the MCU debut of Fury’s right hand, Maria Hill, who looks primed to play her biggest part yet in Secret Invasion.
Iron Man 3
While he gets relegated to a bit of a sidekick role in his adventures with Stark, Rhodey’s political career is advanced here when President Matthew Ellis upgrades him to the Iron Patriot and puts him front and center in the battle against The Mandarin.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
In his last appearance before we see him in Secret Invasion, Colonel Rhodes and Sam Wilson have a discussion about Sam’s decision to place the Captain America shield in the Smithsonian.
According to CanWeGetSomeToast, a scooper who is hiding in the Multiverse, Vision’s synthezoid children, Vin and Viv, who were created by Vision so he might enjoy the human experience of having a family, are both set to appear in Vision Quest.
While Viv has gone on to join the Young Avengers and have some wild adventures, the cookie crumbled a little differently for Vin who died within the same 12-issue series in which he was introduced. While any news or rumors about Marvel Studios projects are welcome at this point, it’s also a sobering reminder that Vision Quest, which was once on track to head into production in early 2024 will almost certainly be delayed by the ongoing WGA strike and the potential pending strikes of Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America. Though Disney was looking for a way to spread out its streaming content, this probably wasn’t what they had in mind.
Marvel Studios first streaming series of 2023, Secret Invasion, will debut on Disney Plus in just over three weeks and the hype for the project has begun to build. The series will see Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury uncover an ongoing plot hatched years ago by a faction of Skrulls who seek to take over the Earth. The promotional footage and material from the show has leaned heavily into the paranoid aspects of the spy thriller though one character who is rumored to play a heavy role in that has been notably absent.
It seems McDonald’s character will go by the name of Chris Stearn, a name not associated with any Marvel Comics character though it could be a reference to legendary shock jock Howard Stern. The idea of a talking head who fans the flames of paranoia–and who could himself be a Skrull for that matter–is a great touch that provides some interesting commentary on the state of modern media. As originally reported, McDonald’s Stearn could end up finding himself included in other projects down the road after appearing in a fairly regular supporting role in Secret Invasion.
Who do you trust? Marvel Studios Secret Invasion begins streaming on June 21st.
As the WGA strike continues, multiple Marvel Studios productions have been halted or delayed. After kicking off in April, Destin Daniel Cretton‘s Wonder Man has been delayed indefinitely in Los Angeles and both Blade and Thunderbolts, which were slated to begin production in and around Atlanta, have been postponed. Marvel’s most ambitious project, Daredevil: Born Again, an 18-episode streaming series starring Charlie Cox, VincentD’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal, kicked off production in New York City earlier this year and its current status has been a source of confusion among some fans. Now, D’Onofrio has cleared up where it stands amid the strike.
Though production on the project was shut down for a day earlier this month, D’Onofrio told Comic Book that while it’s not “business as usual”, the streaming series is still filming. “I wouldn’t call business as usual because we want to… Well, I’ll speak for myself. I want to be loyal to the writers and to the teamsters,” D’Onofrio explained. “We’ve been told that the company is going to work through. Our writers are on strike, so we have no writers at the moment, but we have our scripts, so that’s good.“
Cox and D’Onofrio reportedly spent quite a bit of time ahead of the start of production making sure the scripts were in tip-top shape which is good news for fans as there are surely not two stars more invested in their Marvel Studios characters than them. And while they have those scripts to work from and they plan to move forward filming the series, that doesn’t mean that their won’t be more production delays along the way. “As long as we’re doing it in a gracious way and everybody’s in agreement that we can work when we’re allowed to work and we’ll shut down when we should shut down,” said D’Onofrio. “Out of respect for the teamsters and the writers and such, then that’s what we’re going to do. And so far, so good. It’s been going well.“
In summary, Daredevil: Born Again will face some challenges during its production but Disney has, at least for the time being, made the decision to push ahead. The streaming series is reportedly set to hit Disney Plus beginning in 2024.
Who do you trust? Unless it’s Patti LuPone, it’s probably not any actor or actress rumored to be part of a Marvel Studios project. Over the years, the lying and dissembling has grown farcical as the talent attached to projects roll out the same tired denials. Of course, every now and then, someone rumored to be boarding a project actually isn’t; however, given the growing number of denials, it’s often hard for fans to discern who they can trust…especially when it’s someone they’d like to see in their favorite franchise. Now it looks like fans are facing another decision as Secret Invasion’s debut approaches.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress Chloe Bennet, who has been rumored to appear in Marvel Studios next big streaming series denied that she’ll be appearing in any Marvel Studios projects. In fact, Bennet said that while she would love to reprise her role as Quake, she’s never been contacted by the studio for a role in any of their projects.
“Of course. Of course, I would be open to it,” said Bennet of the opportunity to return to the role she filled on the ABC series. “Listen, there’s a lot of stuff around that. I so deeply love S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fans because it’s this tenacity that got the show on air to begin with.”
Despite her willingness to suit back up, however, it seems the studio just hasn’t found the right project for her return. “I have not once been approached or asked or involved in anything after I wrapped S.H.I.E.L.D.,” claimed Bennet. “And I am not involved in anything that is coming out. I’ve not been asked, but I would be more than excited to put on the suit again. And, of course, of course, Daisy is a big part of who I am. So I would love to, but I have not been communicated [with] about it.“
For fans who have been around the denial block a time or two, most of what Bennet had to say sounds awfully familiar. Over the past few years, Charlie Cox, Andrew Garfield, Jonathan Majors and Tatiana Maslanyjoined the prestigious list of actors forced to lie to fans despite their involvement in projects being fairly well-known. Has Bennet joined them? Or are all the rumors, hints and teases of her role in Secret Invasion all false? Who do you trust?
As production delays begin to stack up amid the ongoing WGA strike, fans are becoming increasingly concerned that Marvel Studios 2024 slate will be wiped out. While that’s certainly one possibility at this point, there are plenty of other options that are far rosier. With the content-less 2020 still fresh in fans’ minds, it’s worth taking a look at how the dips and dives of 2023 might help dodge a deserted 2024.
The Original Plan
Just over a year ago, Kevin Feige rolled out a massive slate update at SDCC ’22. That slate included an ambitious 2024 plan that included two Phase Five series (Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Daredevil: Born Again), two Phase Five films (Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts) three untitled Phase Six series and one Phase Six film (Fantastic Four).
Ch-ch-ch-changes
By late September 2022, another Phase Five movie was added when Deadpool 3 was officially announced. Just a month later, Blade was given a September 6, 2024 release date, moving Deadpool 3 to November 8, 2024 and pushing 2024’s Phase Five film total to 4 and sliding Fantastic Four into 2025.. Bob Iger’s return to Disney further altered the 2024 slate as his new mandates concerning the curation of the company’s streaming content shuffled Marvel Studios’ 2023 plans a bit, pushing Agatha: Coven of Chaos firmly out of 2023 and indefinitely delaying the release of Ironheart.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to understand that if these projects don’t restart/start production in a reasonable amount of time then they won’t make their 2024 release dates. Could fans be looking at another content-less year in 2024?
Potential New Scenarios
The answer is almost definitely not thanks to streaming. In March, Marvel Studios seemingly accidentally tipped their hand and revealed what looks to be a pretty accurate slate for their LIVE-ACTION series on Disney Plus.Ironheart looks slated to kick off 2024 and there have been no reports that any reshoots or additional photography have been or will be impacted by the strike. It seems most of the work being done on that series is in post-production VFX and it’ll be ready to stream whenever Iger gives it the go-ahead. Principal photography on Agatha: Coven of Chaos should be wrapped by June-ish allowing the show to go into post-production and get ready for a 2024 release. Like every Marvel Studios project, it’s certainly scheduled for a round of reshoots/additional photography and while that likely can’t happen while the strike is ongoing (they would have to have written the reshoots before the strike), they could take place at any time after the strike ends in 2023 or 2024 and still make its way to Disney Plus by mid-2024. Given its nearly year-long shoot, Daredevil: Born Again‘s status is far more tenuous than either of the other two aforementioned projects but so far, so good. It’s also set to be an 18-episode series with recent rumors suggesting it will be broken into two, nine-episode chunks and it’s safe to say that given the shooting schedule, they’ve probably filmed 4 or 5 of those episodes already. While it’s no sure thing, the first nine episodes could be ready to roll for late 2024.
It would seem there is far less certainty surrounding the studio’s 2024 theatrical offerings. Captain America: New World Order has completed a significant chunk of its production and, so far, has not been shut down as a result of the strike; however, reshoots are built-in and as mentioned above will not be done until after the strike. It’s currently set for a May 3, 2024 release, so unless the strike goes on through the end of the year, that date is manageable, though it’s beginning to look like the studio won’t have to hold it.
Even though the delay was just announced, it’s already tough to imagine that Thunderbolts will hit its July 26th, 2024 theatrical release. The strike would likely have to end in the next 4-6 weeks to allow the project to avoid the sort of rushed post-productions that have had Marvel Studios in the spotlight for the last year. Should the strike go on longer than that, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine Captain America: New World Order being moved to July and having Thunderbolts move as well. But where would it land?
That answer might depend on the content of Deadpool 3. Should production on that project go on uninterrupted, it would be reasonable to assume that it would be ready to hit theaters by next July, should Captain America: New World Order be able to make its May 3, 2024 date. Whether or not the plot of Deadpool 3 is reliant on the other projects currently slated to release before it or not is another consideration and one that we can’t answer at present. However, if it can be moved and it does continue production, it could be ready for July or September, stepping in where it once was before Blade moved there.
While there’s no guarantee, Captain America: New World Order and Deadpool 3 are currently the best bets to release in 2024. The statuses of Thunderbolts and Blade, however, are inextricably tied to the timeline of the resolution of the WGA strike. Films that aren’t filmed can’t be released, so it is currently impossible to know when they’ll hit theaters. However, should the strike end by mid-to-late July, it’s possible that both films could still end up in 2024 with one taking the September 6th date and the other taking November 8th. Which one ends up where would simply then become a matter of which one is further along in production.
All that is contingent on Marvel Studios even feeling as though they need to stay on track with their current scheduled dates which is in no way certain because they are hardly the only studio whose slate will be impacted by the strike. Dates could shuffle at any time which is something we just can’t predict but if we assume they keep the four dates, dozens of scenarios unfold with a few that seem more likely than others.
Best Case Scenario
Q1-Ironheart May 3-Captain America: New World Order Q2-Agatha: Coven of Chaos July 26th-Deadpool 3 September 6-Blade/Thunderbolts Q4-Daredevil: Born Again November 8-Thunderbolts/Blade
A Scenario That Is Neither Best Case Nor Worse Case
Q1-Ironheart May 3-Captain America: New World Order Q2-Agatha: Coven of Chaos July 26th-Deadpool 3 Q4-Daredevil: Born Again
Not Quite Worst Case Scenario
Q1-Ironheart July 26-Captain America: New World Order Q3-Agatha: Coven of Chaos
While the last scenario seems improbable, it’s still on the table. Should the strike stretch out across the summer and into the fall, Marvel Studios will have to greatly rethink their slate. Should the strike end before SDCC ’23, it’s possible that Kevin Feige will stroll on stage with an updated slate; however, given how much things have changed since last year, how seriously should fans even take it?
Marvel Studios’ upcoming take on Daredevil is continuing to add some great talent, as they have seemingly added Clark Johnson not only as a director but also to play the role of “Cherry.” While it’s not confirmed by Marvel, Deadline shares that it is who they have heard he is playing, and he’s set to also direct two episodes of Marvel Studios’ longest-running Disney+ series. He joins the new take on the Netflix characters once again played by Charlie Cox with new showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord working on the project.
While the Deadline article spells the name “Cherry”, there’s a chance he might tackle the role of corrupt politician Randolph Cherryh, who appeared in Daredevil #177. The character was notable for having a direct tie to Kingpin, who is also going to return with Vincent D’Onforio reprising his role from Hawkeye and the upcoming Echo. It seems very unlikely that this will be a gender-bent version of Cherry Blossom, who served as a Hand assassin in the comics.
ClarkJohnson has made quite an imprint on TV, as he directed the pilot episode of The Shield which got him an Emmy nomination. He’s also been involved with shows like Love & Death, Mayor of Kingstown, Luke Cage, The Good Fight, The Wire, and many more. He also acted in a variety of projects, such as playing Gus Haynes in The Wire, which might be one of his most iconic roles. He also appears in Evil as Father Amara.
The Internet will often point to “quality over quantity” in regard to lower-than-usual performing Marvel movies. Though they still dominated most of 2022, their only “shortcoming” so far was Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania underperforming with 470M. Yes, it didn’t make its money back but it’s still an amount most people would dream of in such a competitive market after running for 10+ years. Still, the vocalization of the Internet’s displeasure has also been very openly pointed at Disney+.
Some say the shows aren’t good enough quality, constantly dragging down the viewership numbers based on 3rd party tracking, and hatred from being too “woke” by a specific crowd. Last year, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Ms. Marvel took the brunt of it, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige left with a strong message during Disney’s Upfronts by pointing out that their shows have reached “often two to three times the numbers of viewers” from the “buzziest shows on competitive services.”
Thanks to Disney+, we’ve expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe into genre and formats new to us that we haven’t done before. We’ve been able to introduce exciting new heroes and villains, locations and storylines into the MCU. And I’m pleased to share that when you compare our Marvel series to some of the buzziest shows on competitive services, even our smallest series are reaching much more international audience – often two to three times the number of viewers.
Kevin Feige
We can’t really prove it and streaming services continue to share very little outside of Netflix, but it’s definitely an interesting perspective to offer. And it’s not like they are inventing numbers, it may be a showcase of the international audience embracing these shows more, and discussions on quality are much more diverse than they appear to be; especially if you see how the Internet reacts toward the existence of shows like The Good Doctor.
We’ll see what the future holds for these shows, but Marvel is definitely taking a step back and changing up their strategy, such as Echo becoming a binge release. For now, it feels like we’re about to enter a new era as the pandemic has been left behind and theatrical releases are finally a viable strategy again.
Disney just recently had its Upfront presentation, where it showcased to advertisers just how important it is to invest their money in Disney+. Their new ad-supported model is just picking up speed and it’s no wonder that they would try to push what the future has in store plus all the pre-existing franchises that pull in quite a number of viewership. At the after-party, it seems there are a few displays of iconic imagery from Star Wars and Marvel.
that isn’t all, as there’s also a showcase of Loki’s second season. We get a look at a black suit that has been teased for the God of Mischief. Not just that, but the standee is next to something that looks like a space-inspired suit from the TVA. The logo is on it, and there were some hints at this being something Morbius wears in the upcoming second season, but it’s interesting that they are including some spoilers from sequences we haven’t seen yet.
— B E A N Z: Stuck In Raccoon City 🎮 (@BeanzGotGamez) May 16, 2023
Looking closely at the picture next to Iron Man’s helmet, you can actually see that this suit is, in fact, for Morbius. It’s called a Temporal Core suit and may play into the time travel elements that continue to be a big part of this new multiversal storyline. With the confirmation of a release date during the Upfronts, we’re still waiting for an actual trailer. Of course, they may be trying to focus on Secret Invasions to avoid overlapping too many ads that create the “quantity over quality” belief of the web.
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