Marvel Studios Executive Producer Nate Moore has set the record straight on the number of potential Wakanda-based spinoff projects in development. In an interview with Variety, Moore, who is also a member of Marvel Studios Parliament, described the World of Wakanda as “expansive” and full of “great characters” adding that “beyond what happens with this film, there are more opportunities to go back to Wakanda.”
The D+ streaming series Ironheart will be the first project to spin out of the Black Panther franchise but as Moore put it, “there are no shortage of ideas” about other projects. According to Moore, some of the series in mind would involve existing characters, such as the Okoye-centric project that’s been in development for some time, while others would focus on characters “that would be completely new.” With the introduction of Namor and Talokan in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the potential could exist for Coogler’s Proximity Media to develop projects based around those characters as well.
The idea of multiple projects set within and adjacent to the World of Wakanda comes at a time when Disney Plus offers multiple options to expand on the characters and stories that make up the shared tapestry of the MCU. Nearly three years ago, WandaVision began an new age of streaming series for Marvel Studios and while 6-10 episode series seemed to be a key piece of the D+ puzzle, Werewolf By Night, the studio’s first Special Presentation,opened another gateway for new projects. Given the rich comic book history and number of characters associated with Wakanda, it wouldn’t be surprising to see all avenues explored in the future.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on November 11th.
Marvel Studios WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, is preparing for the early 2023 start of principal photography and the cast is seemingly growing by the day. One of the major additions to the Kathryn Hahn-led streamer was Heartstopper actor Joe Locke, who was cast as an unnamed gay, lead character for the 9-episode series. Locke’s casting came shortly after a report indicated that Agatha: Coven of Chaos looked to be set to introduce Billy Kaplan to the MCU, but a prevailing alternate theory as the actor playing Agatha’s son, Nicholas Scratch. Now, a new rumor seems to add fuel to the Wiccan fire.
According to one YouTube channel, Locke’s role in the upcoming series is indeed that of Billy Kaplan/Wiccan. Of course, given everything that is known about the character(and the fact that Locke is a near-perfect match for the character’s physical appearance in the comics), Wiccan is the most obvious choice. Though Hahn’s character is the lead in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the title would lead one to believe that the series will be dealing with the fallout of Wanda Maximoff’s time as the Scarlet Witch and her use of Chaos Magic. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may also have given some hints as to the pending arrival of Wiccan as a representation of him was seen etched into the walls of Mount Wundagore.
In the comics, Billy Kaplan is the son of a Jewish couple living in New York who is ultimately revealed to be the “reborn soul” of Billy Maximoff. Kaplan, who becomes a founding member of the Young Avengers. Destined to become the all-powerful Demiurge, Billy often found himself the target of schemes by other magic-wielders, including Loki, who sought his power for themselves. Given Agatha has lived by siphoning the power from others for so long, it would stand to reason that if she were somehow able to break free from Wanda’s spell, perhaps with the assistance of a group of other witches, she might take a keen interest in someone like Billy Kaplan.
Marvel Studios has had no official comment on Locke’s role. Hahn and Locke have recently been joined in the series by Aubrey Plaza, Ali Ahn and Maria Dizzia, whose role as a witch in the series has been misreported. Principal photography is expected to kick off in January and wrap in May and the series is currently on the schedule for a late-2023/early-2024 release on Disney Plus.
It’s very clear for a while that streaming is a high-investment game and those costs only continue to grow over time. Netflix still has showcased that this model doesn’t always promise instant wins as expectations on all sides continue to grow to hope to be the one that draws in the biggest crowd. In Disney’s latest earnings call, it was highlighted that Disney’s streaming losses have continued to grow to $1.47 billion even as it added an impressive 12.1M subscribers in the last quarter.
Overall, Disney is doing well in the streaming market by hitting 235M subscribers overall, as Hulu added one million and ESPN+ another 1.5M. Ms. Marvel, interestingly enough, was highlighted as one of the shows that gave Disney+’s growth a boost, which is interesting considering it had a lower viewing count when compared to others in the franchise. It once again may highlight the importance of Disney diversifying its portfolio to draw in viewers, especially a younger generation.
The biggest concern lies in how Disney has doubled its year-over-year investment, which will have investors and shareholders uncertain about the potential of this market. CEO Bob Chapek hinted that these costs have now peaked and profitability would start in 2023.
The rapid growth of Disney+ in just three years since launch is a direct result of our strategic decision to invest heavily in creating incredible content and rolling out the service internationally, and we expect our DTC operating losses to narrow going forward and that Disney+ will still achieve profitability in fiscal 2024, assuming we do not see a meaningful shift in the economic climate. By realigning our costs and realizing the benefits of price increases and our Disney+ ad-supported tier coming December 8, we believe we will be on the path to achieve a profitable streaming business that will drive continued growth and generate shareholder value long into the future.
Bob Chapek
There’s a lot of hope in the new ad-tier version of these Disney bundles to make that profitability possible especially as they also have a price increase planned. If they manage to accomplish this task, the world may take another look at the streaming market’s longevity. The Wrap considers it a signal of “streaming fatigue” but that’s difficult to truly say at this point even with minor signs potentially steering it in that direction. At this point, the first promise of profitability is crucial for Disney to prove their investment was truly worth it. Overall Disney has a revenue of $20.1 billion in its quarter with an operating income of $1.6M.
The announcement of Daredevil: Born Again as an 18-episode streaming series brought a lot of questions with it. Would the series stream for 18 consecutive weeks? Would the episodes be broken into groups or pods? How long will it take to film something like that? Thanks to a report from The Illuminerdi, it looks like we have an answer to one of those questions.
Daredevil: Born Again is one of three Disney Plus streaming series set to film in the first half of 2023, joining Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Wonder Man. Early word had the Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio-led Daredevil series headed to New York City for production, returning to the familiar locations fans grew accustomed to over 3 seasons of the Netflix series. The new report from the Illuminderdi confirms that and adds that production is expected to last nearly all of 2023, beginning in February and wrapping in December. A short break is scheduled in August, but it looks like fans will have plenty of time to catch a glimpse of the production as it goes on.
While Marvel Studios uses the Atlanta area for much of their stateside productions, Daredevil: Born Again won’t be the first project to be out and about on the streets of New York City. Hawkeye filmed a significant portion of its six episodes in the Big Apple, allowing for fans and paps to catch actors on set, including the first look at Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. There’s no way of knowing just how much fans can expect to see Cox and D’Onofrio on the streets, or across the skyline, but regardless of that filming in New York City rather than turning the streets of Atlanta into a replica will bring a bit of verisimilitude to the project, which is expected to stream on Disney Plus in 2024.
It looks like the cast for the upcoming WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, continues to grow as we have some more casting news from Deadline. Sasheer Zamata, an alumna from Saturday Night Live, has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Not just that, it seems that Eric André may have also booked at least an episode of the show. Jac Schaeffer is developing the series as part of their new deal with Marvel and 20th Century, which will further explore the character of Agatha Harkness, who was introduced to Marvel Studios’ first Disney+ series with Kathryn Hahn in the role.
There are still many questions surrounding what we may expect from a Disney+ project focused on the character of Agatha Harkness. There is hope that we get a better look at the magical corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the concept of witches feels like the perfect concept to combine Doctor Strange’s more bombastic look at magic with the horror elements we witnessed in Werewolf by Night.
There’s definitely a lot of potential with the concept and hopefully, it also means that Hahn‘s character will have a bigger role in the MCU moving forward. Harkness was famously the babysitter for the children of Reed Richards and Sue Storm of Fantastic Four fame. It would certainly be a fun surprise if she somehow ends up appearing in the upcoming film, even if it’s just a minor role. Well, we’ll find out what exactly Marvel Studios has planned for the character once the series releases next year.
Welcome to another edition of Murphy’s Multverse’s Sunday Paper. With endless news and content coming to you throughout the week, the Sunday Paper is here for anyone who wants an overview of what happened in the past week. Whether you missed it all, or just want to catch up, this is the article for you. Remember to follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out our website to stay up to date. Check out last week’s Sunday Paper here.
Perhaps some of the week’s biggest news comes from two upcoming Marvel Studios Disney+ series. Despite having no release date, Wonder Man has made headlines due to some major casting announcements. For starters, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in talks to star in the titular role. He is well-known for his roles DC’s Black Manta in the Aquaman films has also starred in HBO’s Watchmen, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Nia DaCosta‘s Candyman, and The Matrix Resurrections where he played Morpheus. Not only that, but Better Call Saul’sBob Odenkirkis also reportedly being eyed for a role in the series, and we have a theory as to who he could play.
Aubrey Plaza has joined the MCU. The actress has landed an as-yet-unnamed role in the Disney Plus streaming series Agatha: Coven of Chaos, which will reportedly kick off production with a short stint in 2022 before really getting the wheels turning in January 2023. Though the plot of the series has yet to be revealed, it’ll feature the return of Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, who fans fell in love with in 2021’s WandaVision, and likely continue to flesh out the mystical corner of the MCU. With that in mind we decided to take a stab at which powerful magic user Plaza might portray!
Morgan Le Fay
Morgan Le Fay stands as the top choice for Plaza and, in all honesty, any other option will be a little disappointing. Morgan is one of the oldest and most powerful mystics in the Marvel Universe and, should Jac Schaeffer and the creatives behind Agatha: Coven of Chaos choose to use it, has a comic book history with something Agatha held dear: the Darkhold. In the comics, it was Le Fay and her followers, the incredibly creatively named Darkholders, who originally bound Chthon, the Elder God of Chaos who wrote the Darkhold, to Mount Wundagore. The potential connectivity to the individual and collective histories of both Agatha and Wanda Maximoff make Morgan a great choice for the show and Plaza seems a wonderful fit for the ageless, sultry sorceress.
Jennifer Kale
Though not a villain, Jennifer Kale is a prime candidate to show up in Agatha: Coven of Chaos for multiple reasons, her being a witch among them. Kale comes from a long line of family connected to the Cult of Zhered-Na. One group of cultists led by Jennifer’s father, held in their possession a collection of magical scrolls whose power may have been on par with that of the Darkhold. Kale also has ties to a number of mystical and magical beings in the comics including Man-Thing and a pair of Ghost Riders. Having a strong witch like Kale introduced in the series would allow the character to pop up again as Marvel Studios builds out that corner of the MCU. Plaza could fill that role nicely and set a few appearances on her schedule.
Satana
Maybe the longest of long shots, but also maybe one of the most potentially entertaining fits for Plaza would be Queen of Hell, Satana. In the comics, Satana is a succubus and a human-demon hybrid fathered by the demon Marduk who believes himself to be the Satan. It doesn’t really matter what Satana does, what’s important is that she always has fun doing it. Plaza would knock this role out of the park, even if it’s a little hard to imagine this character in the MCU at the moment.
Natalya Maximoff
One interesting possibility that doesn’t necessarily fit the bill of “villain” is Natalya Maximoff, the biological mother of Wanda and her predecessor as the Scarlet Witch. Introduced in James Robinson’s fantastic Scarlet Witch solo series, Natalya is integral to Wanda’s journey along the Witches’ Road. While the legacy of the Scarlet Witch seems a little different in the MCU than the comics, it’s still possible to introduce the character and shine a little light on how Wanda came about her natural affinity for magic.
Lilith
A pretty popular choice for the villain role, Lilith, the Mother of Demons, is as powerful of a sorceress as anyone from the pages of Marvel Comics. She served as one of the main antagonists of a Marvel Comics mini-series entitled Witches that delved into some of the history of witchcraft in the Marvel Universe. She has produced an entire race of demon-spawn, the Lilin, who have long been at war with humans. Should Agatha: Coven of Chaos look to put a little more positive spin on Agatha Harkness, she could find herself and her coven up against Lilith and her children. Or, should they want to keep Agatha a little shadier, she could be working with them.
As with any list like this, there’s a better chance of Plaza playing a character who is not on it rather than a character who is. With filming set to kick off over the next couple of months, we can hope word or set photos trickle out that offer some clues as to who the talented actress might be!
While many wondered why WandaVision was getting a spinoff series focused on Kathryn Hahn‘s Agatha Harkness, recent news reports have showcased that there’s a lot more potential at play here. Agatha: Coven of Chaos just recently cast Aubrey Plaza in a villainous role and there are rumors floating on what may be the inspiration behind this series’ storyline. Now, Illuminerdi may have shared a few more details on the project.
According to their latest report, the series will be a limited series running for nine episodes. There’s no word if that means it’ll be a half-hour show or Marvel Studios’ first time tackling a nine-episode drama. They also shared that Jac Schaeffer and Gandja Monteiro may direct at least one episode each.
The project is definitely shaping up to be an interesting addition, and it’s been fun to see Marvel Studios use smaller characters to tell unique stories. It also gives them the opportunity to tell stories that otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to tell due to previous character decisions, such as how Armor Wars is now a War Machine-focused story rather than Tony Stark.
Marvel Studios has years of stories they can tell in interesting ways. We now live in a timeline where Werewolf by Night got his own special exploring a new corner of this universe we may have not expected otherwise. Who knows what other characters might get an adaptation in the near future that we may not have expected?
It seems that the casting for the Wonder Man Disney+ series is in full swing, as not too long after Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was revealed to be in talks for the leading role, it seems they may already be trying to fill another key role. According to a new report by Illuminerdi, they have also set their sights on Bob Odenkirk joining the production in a key role as Wonder Man’s manager.
Odenkirk would definitely be a great addition to the MCU, as the actor has made quite a splash as of late with his work on Better Call Saul, the long-running Breaking Bad spinoff exploring the early days of his character Saul Goodman. He’s also proven himself as an action star with his role in Nobody. So, whatever direction they take with his character, he’s definitely going to offer us a memorable performance.
There’s a lot of hope for the Wonder Man project, especially with how it may potentially explore Hollywood in a world filled with superheroes. Not only that, but perhaps it opens up the window for Marvel to also explore its journey as a production company. There could be a lot of meta-takes with this project; not something they are new to either.
Sylvie was one of Marvel Studios’ most interesting additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sophia DiMartino takes on the role of a multiversal counterpart of Loki, who has lived her own life and ends up developing a deep connection with the version we first met in Avengers: Endgame. Yet, when she was first teased many believed she was the Enchantress before the series revealed her true role.
Yet, our theories on her Enchantress routes from the comics were dead on the money according to concept illustrator Wesley Burt. In the official Art of book fo the disney+ series Loki: The Art of Series, The Direct shared an interesting segment from Burt where he reveals that the character was initially just a fusion of Enchantress known as Sylvie Lushton and the iconic Lady Loki, who had a major role in the comics.
When I started out working on concepts for Sylvie, I knew very little. Before I was able to read the script, I knew she was going to be a variant of Loki, that it was going to draw upon both Lady Loki and Enchantress Sylvie Lushton from the comics. And so the first pass of stuff I did was really focused on just seeing what I could pull from the comic book references and build from there. Then I was able to read the entire story to get a feel for who she is, what she is after, and what her personality is like.
Wesley Burt
While the name in her series gave it away, it’s quite interesting that early concept arts did pull from these comic influences to establish a brand new take on a well-established take. Once we met a younger and older version of Loki, the connection of her being this Disney+ series’ take on Lady Loki made sense but it opened the question if the Enchantress comparison was just a coincidence. Either way, they still wanted to make her stand out on her own terms as well.
Even though she’s a variant of Loki, she’s a different person in certain ways. And from there, you get the sense that she’s on a mission. So I wanted to make sure her costuming was functional; it wasn’t going to slow her down. She could fight in it; she could run and do whatever she needs to do because all that she cares about is ‘completing her mission.
Wesley Burt
DiMartino is set to reprise the role of Sylvie in the second season, and it’ll be interesting to see if we see many more influences from her comic counterparts creep in. There still is the possibility that they explore Enchantress as her own character in the MCU, as elements from her were also used in the new take on Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. So, we’ll see if she might actually make her MCU debut at some point.
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