There’s been an online debate for years if Marvel Studios catering too much to a younger audience. With the rise of more adult fare like The Boys, some people feel like there’s no place for that franchise anymore. The series creator Seth Rogen, however, does acknowledge that the films are “just not for” him as he believes it’s not made for an “adult with no children.” Though he also aknowledges that is his own personal taste and praises Marvel Studios president KevinFeige.
Yet, he also goes on to highlight that The Boys “wouldn’t exist” if it weren’t for the existence of Marvel Studios. It’s classic counterprogramming that we’ve seen many times throughout the years and a simple evolution that was set by the produciton company in the superhero genre. It’s common that alternatives pop up that cater to different types of audiences that may want to embellish in mocking the other. He also highlights how the “Western” never truly went away but many of its elements still live on in modern projects.
Truthfully, without Marvel, ‘The Boys’ wouldn’t exist or be interesting. I’m aware of that,” Rogen said. “I think if it was only Marvel [in the marketplace], it would be bad. But I think it isn’t – clearly. An example I’m always quoting is, there’s a point in history where a bunch of filmmakers would have been sitting around, being like, ‘Do you think we’ll ever make a movie that’s not a Western again? Everything’s a Western! Westerns dominate the fucking movies. If it doesn’t have a hat and a gun and a carriage, people aren’t going to go see it anymore.
Seth Rogen
ONe could argue that the understanding of what is and isn’t “adult” does leave a lot of wiggle room. The Boys offers some powerful story telling but also enjoys its over-the-top violence and earning its hard-R rating. Yet, that isn’t the case for everyone. Marvel Studios isn’t making films specifically for children but something anyone can enjoy at all ages, as not every adult without a child might agree with Rogen‘s view on the matter.
He makes a good point that a certain type of filmmaking has been very dominant finanically speaking in comparison to traditional cinematic experiences, though he also tries to drive a wedge between these two by describing one as “audiovisual entertainment” and “cinema,” creating a distinction of these experiences.
The debate that sparked from Martin Scorsese has flip-flopped from creative to creative. Blockbusters are still a big part of the cinematic experience but what one describes as “cinema” can change from person to person. There should not be a reason to create a distinction but consider the ramifications of one type dominating the other. Though this is a matter we’ll likely never see a consensus on the matter given how discourse has changed over time.
For a long time, there was an ongoing joke that Tony Stark would always learn a lesson from a previous film that would make a short appearance in a future project. One of the most notable was when Rhodey had his accident in Captain America: Civil War, he made sure that Spider-Man had a safety parachute in his suit during Spider-Man: Homecoming. It looks like that ongoing joke is something that Marvel Studios also lives by.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed in an interview with Movie Business Podcast that they hold “post-mortem on every project” to take away lessons from each project and it even was something that started back in the first Iron Man all the way back in 2008 but they wouldn’t receive their name until much later.
We do a post-mortem on every project, or at least we try to, if we’re not too busy with the next project, to sit and discuss what went right and what went wrong. And I remember we started doing that, we were asked to do it for the first time on ‘Iron Man 1.’ And we call them ‘post-mortems’ now, at the time it was a ‘what went wrong’ meeting. We were asked to do a ‘what went wrong’ meeting for Iron Man. And I thought, ‘What went wrong? This movie’s a giant hit, it launched a whole studio? Why do we have to do a what went wrong meeting?
There’s something funny about hearing the comment regarding the reaction to a “what went wrong meeting” given that this isn’t an unusual practice in other industries. Though, it highlights the importance of what Marvel Studios has accomplished throughout the last 10+ years of pushing this franchise forward: they always try to learn what worked and didn’t work. He also highlights they always want to “entertain first” with their projects.
That’s a horrible way to put it, which is what I was reacting to. But it is actually great to sit and go, ‘Here’s what was done, here’s how we could have done it better.’ And we do that on every project. And I guess to distill it down of what lessons is learned is, entertain the audience [at every] turn. Frank Capra has a quote that our Co-President Louis D’esposito quotes often, which is basically distilled down to, entertain first.
The Internet might have their own opinions on what works or doesn’t work for the Marvel Studios projects, as someone can be quite vocal. But, it’s reassuring to know that they take this seriously and try to take some lessons away from any project they work on, no matter how successful. It might also reflect on how they keep it moving forward and building towards its future.
Going by many rumors and reports making the rounds, it seems they learned quite a bit from their pandemic era that consisted of Phase 4 and have adjusted accordingly going into their next phase of films and building towards the climax that is Avengers: Secret Wars and the end of the Multiverse Saga.
With Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania set to start Phase 5 in February, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to dramatically change course in the midst of the Multiverse Saga. Much like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the official list of what a fan should watch to prepare for the film is not quite as simple as you’d think. Part of this is the mere fact that the MCU now has 30 films, 8 Disney+ series, 2 Disney+ special presentations, and I Am Groot. Still, considering the absolute chaos of the Multiverse, the introduction of the Multiverse Saga’s main villain, a Young Avengers setup, and threequel status make Quantumania a fun one for our latest Ultimate List of Things to Watch Before.
At the end of the day, 16 projects made this list with varying degrees of relevance. First, the top three tiers are focused on Scott Lang/Ant-Man’s story as well as the Multiverse. After that, it is hard to ignore that Cassie Lang’s role in Quantumania is setting up yet another (likely) future Young Avenger, so the list takes a stroll down memory lane of others we have already seen. As is tradition, the last category really pushes the limit of what makes sense. In any event, somehow every single MCU Disney+ series has made this list, so get started.
Top Tier
The top tier, as you would suspect, comprises the most important projects to watch before Quantumania based on what we know about the film.
1. Ant-Man
It should go without saying that anyone watching the third film in a solo franchise should start with the original film. In 2015, Ant-Man was the epilogue of Phase 2 and introduced Scott Lang, Hank Pym, and Hope Van Dyne for the first time along with several other key players. From the official Quantumania trailer, we also know that the villain Darren Cross appears to be the face of M.O.D.O.K.
2. Ant-Man and the Wasp
While Ant-Man and the Wasp received notoriously mixed reactions, its focus on the Quantum Realm set up so much of the future of the MCU. The film brought the character Janet Van Dyne into reality but also set up the Quantum Realm as a real place to exist—this is where we will find our characters for much of Quantumania. It also highlights Scott’s relationship with his young daughter Cassie, who will be a teenager and seemingly much more important character in the threequel.
3. Loki
Other than the Ant-Man franchise, the Disney+ series Loki is probably the most important project to watch before Quantumania. The finale introduced us to the first variant of Kang the Conquerer in Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains, though “Kang” is set to make his more formal debut in the third Ant-Man film. He Who Remains provided an extremely important monologue about who he was and what would happen if variants of himself were allowed to live on. Now, we’re going to watch the consequences of Loki begin to play out, presumably all coming to an end in Avengers: Secret Wars. Quantumania may have gotten the Multiverse Saga’s most important character as its solo film antagonist, and we will surely see the actual multiverse truly come into play in the wider MCU after this film.
Tier Two
The second tier of “must watches” before Quantumania is short, but it focuses on the remainder of Scott’s on-screen story as well as the Quantum Realm’s connection to the multiverse.
4. Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame very casually dropped the first hints of the Multiverse and the first major consequences of the Quantum Realm and quantum-related technology. Of course, the film shows another appearance of the character, and it is the first time we saw Cassie as a teenager. The father and daughter’s lost time is clearly central to Quantumania, so their reunion early in this film has major significance. A pro tip for the real fans here is that it is always best to watch Avengers: Infinity War along with Endgame, even though there is virtually no Ant-Man significance.
5. Captain America: Civil War
The events of Captain America: Civil War will likely not have much relevance to Quantumania’s story, but in the true MCU spirit of preparing oneself for a solo threequel, all appearances of the character should be watched.
Tier Three
The third tier is (mostly) dedicated to the multiverse. While Quantumania is the first film of the second phase of the Multiverse Saga, Kang’s introduction will likely kick the stakes up a notch.
6. Ms. Marvel
True, Disney+ series Ms. Marvel is not related to the Multiverse. But the series (or at least the first minute or two of the first episode) is here because it mentions that Scott has become a relatively famous person and Avenger post-Endgame. The beginning of the Quantumania trailer also alludes to this fact, so this moment in Ms. Marvel is a significant connecting piece.
7. What If…?
The entrance of Kang and the beginning of Phase 5 can only mean that the MCU’s Multiverse is actually going to start coming out to play. Whether or not it’s a major factor in the main portion of Quantumania is yet to be seen, but the fallout of the film probably carries a lot of multiversal weight. The best way to get into the multiverse mindset is to watch the only project actually dedicated to it, even if it’s at the bottom of most people’s Phase Four favorites lists.
8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
How can you talk about the Multiverse without the film that has the word in its title? Several potential Young Avengers are present here (discussed more below), but Multiverse of Madness was the first live-action project to genuinely explore the multiverse to a significant extent. While it did not live up to all fans’ expectations, Quantumania will surely build on what we know from the Doctor Strange sequel.
9. Spider-Man: No Way Home
The events of Spider-Man: No Way Home are likely well-removed from the world of Quantumania, but the film is a Multiverse classic, and likely the general population’s favorite of all MCU Multiverse-centered projects to date.
Introducing the Young Avengers
An ongoing rumor—or, more likely, prediction—is that the Young Avengers are slowly being assembled throughout several projects. Cassie Lang’s status as a teenage superhero in Quantumania means yet another obvious candidate will be introduced. Notably, Multiverse of Madness (which is already listed above) introduced America Chavez and featured young versions of Wiccan and Speed for the second time in the MCU.
10. Hawkeye
Kate Bishop’s inclusion in Disney+ series Hawkeye got plenty of Young Avengers hype. Not only is she a classic Young Avenger in the comics, but the character has received by far the most attention of any of the likely future members.
11. WandaVision
Wanda’s children, Billy and Tommy, perhaps sparked the first rumors of a future Young Avengers project. The duo’s powers as Wiccan and Speed were also featured in the Disney+ series WandaVision, making it clear that they likely have a superhero future outside of the show.
12. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Often overlooked, another likely Young Avenger made his debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Elijah Bradley, who becomes the superhero Patriot in the comics, has a couple of brief appearances alongside the focus on Isaiah Bradley, a lost/covered-up supersoldier Bucky encountered during the Korean War.
Why Not?
The title of this section says it all. The following projects do have some connection (maybe) to Quantumania in some way, but those connections are extremely distant from anything particularly important. This category is for the true fans.
13. Moon Knight
While Disney+ series Moon Knight notably omits references to the broader MCU, one of its few Easter eggs is actually Kang-related. In its third episode, the image on the back of one of the generic goons Marc Spector fights is a reference to Kang the Conquerer’s time as the pharaoh Rama-Tut in the comics (and presumably the MCU as well).
14. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
One of the worst connections thrown your way yet, the post-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings shows that the Ten Rings have a beacon—and the Quantumania teaser trailer also featured a beacon that clearly led to the Quantum Realm and likely Kang directly. Are all beacons the same? No. But could the Quantum Realm be relevant to mystical items like the Ten Rings or Ms. Marvel’s bangles? Maybe—you should probably watch this just in case.
15. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
The final two projects in this list are certainly a reach but a connection can still be made. The final Disney+ series so far, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, teased the criminal organization the Intelligencia. While we do not know if the name is the only thing borrowed from the comics, we do know that M.O.D.O.K., a Quantumania villain, is a member of the supervillain and super-scientist organization in the comics.
16. Iron Man 3 (AIM)
Like She-Hulk, Iron Man 3 has a loose connection to Quantumania involving M.O.D.O.K.’s comic book history. M.O.D.O.K. has an extensive history with the criminal organization A.I.M., which was briefly introduced and teased in the final Iron Man film.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17, 2023.
New information from insider Daniel RPK seems to have indicated that a Variant of Kang known as Victor Timely is set to make his debut in the MCU in 2023. Via his Patreon, Daniel RPK shared that Loki Season 2 will feature another new Variant of Jonathan Majors‘ Kang who is “an inventor from the past wanting to buy stuff from people to affect the future.” Though RPK added he could not confirm that this Variant will be Victor Timely, speculation about the character has revolved around that identity. This isn’t the first time the character’s name has come up, either, given that the insider teased a mention or appearance of Timely in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Who is Victor Timely and why are so many fans sure this is him? Fascinating questions to which there are probably multiple great answers, to be sure, and while we can’t provide the correct answer we can theorize!
Who is Victor Timely?
Interior art from Avengers Annual #21(1992)
Kang is a complex villain and the convoluted and continuous retconning of the character in the pages of Marvel Comics over the years has made a true understanding of him daunting. In one respect, that’s actually worked in the favor of those penning whatever the latest adventures of the character are because they can be as mysterious and crazy as they want given pretty much nobody knows exactly what went on with Kang to begin with and when time travel is involved, anything is possible…and that is the essence of Victor Timely.
Victor Timely’s origins come from a retcon to Kang’s story first published in 1992’s Avengers Annual #21. The issue tells the story of what happened following Kang’s first defeat at the hands of the Avengers. Kang retreated to the past, where under the alias of Victor Timely he founded a city and rose to fame as an inventor and industrialist. His work as Timely quietly shaped the century while he built a fantastical and quasi-temporal base of operations, Chronopolis, from where he could access timelines that other versions of himself had conquered. On Earth, Timely worked from a location–complete with a door that transported him to Chronopolis–and his advancements in technology ultimately put his products into every robot, cyborg and computer, allowing him full access to nearly every piece of technology on the Earth.
Why Does Victor Timely Make Sense for the MCU at This Point in Time?
The short answer is time. One of the reasons fans debated whether or not Kang would make for an appropriate villain in the MCU is the convoluted nature of the character’s comic book past. Marvel Studios seems to have addressed that fairly well in Season 1 of Loki by indicating that He Who Remains was the victor of a Multiversal War among Kangs who has since spent his time pruning timelines and making sure that the Multiverse doesn’t come back into existence and bring Kang Variants back with it. When Sylvie killed He Who Remains, it set loose a chain reaction of events (the repercussions of which will be explored in Season 2 of Loki) including the emergence of an infinite number of Kangs. It’s all pretty confusing, but by the time Loki Season 2 comes around, the Kang Variant that we are theorizing to be Victor Timely will have already lived a life full of experiences and opportunities we are unlikely to see in full on screen.
By following the rules of time travel and the Multiverse as they are currently understood, should a Kang Variant travel back in time (as Timely did in the comics), it would create a Nexus Event and a new timeline. The new future for the Variant, which takes place in the past, can’t change what happened on his old timeline, but it certainly can be conquered in the new timeline. So the Avengers may have beaten that Kang, but can they beat this Kang? And what is this Kang up to? The comics–and an Easter egg from Season 1 of Loki–could give some hints.
While the Variant of Kang set to appear in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror, is stuck in the Quantum Realm, he also seems to have lived quite a life already and is well aware of his multiple pasts. It’s possible that this Variant is an older version of Victor Timely. In the comics, Timely traveled time to get a head start on the Avengers by cornering the market on technology while also secretly constructing Chronopolis from where he could access all timelines. The fantastical city within the Quantum Realm that’s been seen in promotional material for Quantumania is almost certainly Chronopolis and Kang almost certainly used it for its intended purposes for a long, long time before being trapped there. It’s possible that the Victor Timely Variant of Kang set to appear in Loki Season 2 is there, in part, to explain to audiences how Chronopolis came to be and to fill in the gaps about who the Conqueror that fans meet in Quantumania is.
If that half of Timely’s story could be adapted from the comics, the other half could be adapted just as easily. RPK’s information suggests that Timely is an inventor in the past and in a very Back to the Future twist (that’s Kevin Feige‘s favorite movie, by the way) is looking to impact the future. That future, a future in which Timely’s technology, not Tony Stark’s, is what drives the world may have already been glimpsed in the Void in Season 1 of Loki. The fifth episode of Season 1, entitled “Journey into Mystery”, revealed an alternate version of Stark Tower, Qeng Tower, had been cast into the Void following the reset of one timeline. That timeline would have been reset at the behest of He Who Remains, whose main purpose was to keep other Variants of himself from taking control. In the comics, Timely continued on by feigning death and “handing down” the company from Victor Timely to Jr. to III. It wouldn’t take much imagination to change it up in the MCU and have him “sell” the company to a new owner who might rename it Qeng.
So why is Victor Timely right for the MCU right now? Telling his story in Season 2 of Loki after meeting him in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania not only tells the past of the Conqueror trapped in Chronopolis but also why he’ll be a threat to the Avengers in the future as the man behind Qeng Enterprises.
What is Qenq Enterprises?
Qeng Enterprises appeared in just a couple of comics during Mark Waid‘s 2015 Avengers: Ultron Forever but could be set to play a much larger role in the MCU. In the comics, Qeng Enterprises was the Earth-bound base from which Kang planned to launch his New Qeng Dynasty. In the MCU, it could be the equivalent of the point from which he accessed Chronopolis in the comics and the temporal location that the Avengers choose to target him as he wages his Multiversal War. In Loki, the tower has clearly taken heavy damage and given the crazy time-traveling shenanigans in play now, fans may already have seen the outcome of the Avengers’ war on the Kang Dynasty in a blink-and-you-miss-it Easter egg.
Why is Kang Stuck in Chronopolis?
How does a man like Kang, who has conquered so many timelines become trapped in a city of his own design? in the comics, the ability to move discretely between timelines was powered by an object of unfathomable chronal power: the Forever Crystal. More than one theory has discussed the possibility that the Forever Crystal has already been seen in the promotional footage for Quantumania and that it is the McGuffin of that film. If Scott Lang retrieves the Forever Crystal for Kang, he could put into motion the events of The Kang Dynasty.
Summary
The Kang Variant known as Victor Timely sets up shop on Earth, shapes a century or two through his own technology while building and then using Chronopolis to conquer other timelines. At some point in his journey, he becomes trapped in the Quantum Realm. Once he escapes, hehas enough power and/or weapons at his disposal to take on the Avengers, who had previously defeated him, he launces his attack from Qenq Tower. Looping in a previous theory, the Avengers have acquired powerful weapons (potentially created by other Kang Variants) and defeat Kang. What impact could an assault on Qeng Tower and or Chronopolis have on the Multiverse? That’s a theory for another day.
It looks like the number of times we’ll see Jonathan Majors‘ Kang is finally ramping up. After a brief tease in Loki‘s first season with He Who Remains, a new rumor is making the rounds that we’ll perhaps see another variation of the character appear in its upcoming second season. This would mark the third Variant we’ll meet as it’ll release after February’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, it seems that the upcoming second season of Loki will offer a new Variant that is “an inventor in the past.” It seems he buys things that’ll affect the future and it’s Loki’s job to stop him. Given we see a version of Kang the Conqueror in command of the Time Variance Authority, he might be using them to hunt down other versions of himself that are affecting the multiverse.
Richtman also goes on to highlight that he’s unsure if this is Victor Timely, a version of Nathaniel Richards from the comics and also known as “Prime Kang” but that “it is likely him.” The character is known as the one who ends up forming the town of Timely which would eventually blossom into Chronopolis, which is theorized to be the city we visit in Quantumania.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see how this develops, and if we might see even more versions of the character appear throughout the next few phases. Majors highlighted that the joy of Kang was that he can play different variations that allow him to explore different perspectives on the character. So, he’ll definitely jump at the opportunity to bring Victor Timely to life.
Marvel Studios has been in the focus for a variety of reasons. No matter where one lands, the discussion may never truly end especially on the wide vast internet. Still, there are many sides to any production company, and it seems that the former Game of Thrones star has some kind words for Marvel Studios.
In a new interview with IndieWire, Emilia Clarke got a chance to look back at her past with Disney’s other major franchise Star Wars while also sharing some excitement about her time with Secret Invasion. It seems that she’d a “wicked time” working with them and calls them “absolutely brilliant.”
I’m genuinely having a wicked time on Marvel, though, they’re absolutely brilliant.
Emilia Clarke
It’s certainly high praise for Marvel Studios, which has tended to be under flack from Social Media and some industry experts. Some veteran directors even take shots at the modern blockbuster style that these comic book film adaptations offer. Ethan Hawke did point out that the studio “loves actors“ and their studio approach gives the various directors that work on their films more flexibility in adapting elements by normalizing reshoots.
The biggest issue facing Marvel Studios has been the growing demand for CG work on their projects and with last-minute changes happening frequently, it adds more pressure to an industry that has a difficult model similar to marketing agencies. Not everything is as black and white but it always remains interesting to see just how varied experiences are on any project in Hollywood.
It looks like Marvel Studios is pushing forward quickly, as they are ramping up on one of their most ambitious Disney+ series yet. Daredevil: Born Again will be the longest Disney+ series with 18 episodes and their first attempt at living in the shadow of a previous adaptation with returning actors. Now, we may have a better idea of what they may have planned for the series with som newly revealed writers.
Daredevil‘s Disney+ series may have added some former lawyers to its cast with David Feige, who was a public defender in New York City but also went on to work on series like Raising the Bar or The Firm. Former attorney Thomas Wong also joins after working on Bull and Michael Weatherly. Queens prosecutor Zachary Reiter has also joined, who worked with Feige on The Firm as well as on Law & Order: Organized Crime
She-Hulk, Attorney at Law also relied on former lawyer Charles Soule to offer some insight into how to bring the legal comedy to life. That isn’t all, as the report also points to former Arrowverse writers having joined the production with Jill Blankenship and Grainne Godfree. Blankenship was a showrunner on Naomi but also worked on a variety of Arrow episodes while Godfree was involved with The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
The addition of Arrow writers is definitely interesting, as this extensive writers’ room may hint at a very grounded and legal-heavy drama. It would match why the show has up to 18 episodes. They join showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord, who have the challenging task of bringing back the iconic franchise while adding their own spin to it.
Marvel Studios is still hard at work on its upcoming Disney+ projects that are set to release in 2023. While they revealed their plans back during San Diego Comic-Con, a lot has changed since, and who knows when we can truly expect any of the series to drop. While we continue to wait on an update for Secret Invasion, which would be the next in line to release, it seems we’ll have a little update on Ironheart to tie us over.
In a brief interview with Solo star Alden Ehrenreich, the actor got a chance to tease what it was like working on the Disney+ series. He doesn’t give away any details, as per usual, but he does hint that this story is “big” but still feels “very personal.
Ironheart is big but also feels very personal. I really appreciate that about it. And it was fun, it was nice to go back and do a big one like that.
Alden Ehrenreich
From set leaks and rumors, we know that the series will tackle a very different kind of storyline, as the tech-based hero will face some rather magical enemies. So, there definitely might be a big-scale action if we’ll see young Riri Williams fly around in her latest suit of armor to take on enemies that have some dangerous abilities at their fingertips.
There’s also the question of who exactly Ehrenreich might be playing and if he might be on the technological or magical side of this Disney+ series’ story. We might have to wait a little bit longer to find out, but perhaps he has a bigger role beyond just this series as well.
With Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania set to kick off Marvel Studios Phase 5 in February, what better time to take a comprehensive look back at the ups, downs, ins and outs of Phase 4. First up, the year that wasn’t.
Long before Avengers: Endgame hit theaters in 2019, Marvel Studios was already well into the planning stages of the Multiverse Saga. Disney Plus was set to play a major role in said saga, which looked set to introduce a slew of new heroes and villains. James Gunn’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was originally expected to kick off the new saga but after that went off the rails for a bit, exactly what to expect and when to expect it was a mystery until October of 2018 when the 2020 film slate was exclusively revealed to consist of only Black Widow and Eternals. When Murphy’s Multiverse went live in November of 2019, Marvel Studios had officially confirmed the news about the two films and also slated the first Disney Plus series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier for a Fall 2020 release. 2020 wasn’t set to be the big, blockbuster opening year to Phase 4 that fans may have expected but it looked the be the calm before the storm as 2021 was set to feature 3 big films and 4 streaming series including the first animated series made by Marvel Studios…and then, before anyone could process it, Marvel Studio’s very 2020 existence was gone.
Things started off calmly enough in January 2020 as production on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier resumed following their holiday break. The production shot scenes involving the Flagsmashers at a State Park in Georgia, did some work in the downtown Atlanta location that served as Madripoor and was scheduled to head to Puerto Rico. Then, things started to get weird.
On January 9th, director Scott Derrickson and Marvel Studios amicably parted way on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was set to begin principal photography in May. Just a couple of days later, before a second earthquake in Puerto Rico altered the course of the production of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. By mid-January, production on one of Marvel’s 2021 streaming series, Hawkeye, which was scheduled to begin in July, had been delayed indefinitely.
Even as all that unfolded, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings began filming in Australia in February and productions in Atlanta for Loki, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and the untitled third Spider-Man film were all on track and Thor: Love and Thunder, which Christian Bale had just joined, was set to get underway down under in October.
By early February, Sam Raimi emerged as the front runner to take the reigns on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the studio remained committed to beginning production in May. Then, Hawkeye got back on schedule, booking a September start of production in Atlanta. With Puerto Rico off limits, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was headed to Prague. All seemed good in the world…
On March 3rd, 2020 the following information was shared to supporters of Murphy’s Multiverse Patreon:
I expect production delays to happen. Things may begin shooting, stop shooting and begin again later. They may get pushed several weeks entirely. I believe it’s possible, even probable, that some projects may see release dates shifted. I believe it’s possible, though I can’t speak to probability here, that some projects may not release at all. I believe Disney may have to consider shutting down their U.S. parks for as little as a few weeks and as long as a couple of months (they’ve already closed parks in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Japan to the tune of a $175 M loss). None of this is good. Not even Disney can afford to keep losing money at this rate.
By March 10th, rumors or release dates shifting started to pick up steam and by March 13th, word reached Murphy’s Multiverse that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier would not make its intended Fall 2020 release. By March 21st, Marvel Studios shut down all of its productions indefinitely (the linked article was published and available for some time before we were asked to take it down as many of the members of various crews had not been informed of the pauses on productions). The COVID-19 pandemic was in its earliest and most frightening days and like everything else, the world of Marvel Studios stopped in its tracks.
With nothing but uncertainty staring them in the face, Marvel Studios had no choice but to start making movies. In early April, they made the first in a series of delays to their film slate pushing Black Widow from its intended May release to November and pushing Eternals into 2021. Additionally, with no clear answers about the safety of the production crews, Marvel Studios production stoppage continued with the studio eyeing a September restart.
Productions resumed and began and, alas, WandaVision didn’t quite make into 2020. By October, production had gotten underway on Spider-Man: No Way Home and in December word of Charlie Cox‘s role in the film was shared to the disbelief of pretty much everyone. A year that began with so much hope and saw so much struggle ended with the promise of Cox’s return.
For those that remember it well, 2020 was all about the news and rumors as any little tidbit gave fans something to cling to while we waited to understand what was happening around us. While it was expected to be slow year for Marvel Studios, nobody could have expected it to be the year with no Marvel Studios presence.
Production has begun on Marvel Studios Agatha: Coven of Chaos and so have the leaks. A series of set photos have revealed Joe Locke‘s character out for an afternoon in the Westview Mall with Kathryn Hahn‘s Agatha.
While the photos don’t seem to give much away as far as plot or reveal Locke’s character, they do show that he will have some relationship with Hahn’s Agatha/Agnes in the show. While it’s never been confirmed, it’s widely believed that Locke will be portraying Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan, a founding member of the Young Avengers and the son of Wanda Maximoff. With Agatha: Coven of Chaos just kicking off production, we’ll continue to keep an eye out for set photos that may provide clues to the identity of Locke’s character.
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This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
