At this point, it’s hard to deny that almost any big-name actor has had at least one or two rumors hinting at them joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If they may be real or not, it’s one of the most prolific franchises in the industry, and its continued rise even as it’s facing a sophomore slump in Phase 4 should not be downplayed. Among the many rumored is John Boyega, who has now openly denied any rumors surrounding him having been secretly cast in a role.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he reveals that he’s had enough of big-budget projects after his work on the Sequel trilogy of Star Wars, and is focusing on more “nuanced” projects. He also makes a good point on the weight of joining any project comes in the shadow of Iron Man which became a big part linking the projects for years.
That’s not in the vision for me now. I want to do nuanced things. I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas, because I know it’s real hard to top Iron Man in that universe.
John Boyega
There will always be rumors and likely some not believing Boyega‘s own statements in regards to his approach to future projects Still, it seems that the actor wants to return to his roots and has gone through enough with the weight that Star Wars already put on his shoulders; especially the fan reactions. It’ll be exciting to see what his next project will turn out to be.
Coming out of Marvel Studios’ marquee panel at San Diego Comic-Con over a week ago, one of the major talking points was the confirmation of the full line-ups of both Phase Four and Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, one project which was curiously omitted from either lineup was the previously announced The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special . Despite Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 holding a major presence at the event, no update on the holiday special was provided.
Director James Gunn took to Twitter to give some updates on the special, including its placement in the MCU timeline. Gunn officially referred to the upcoming holiday special as the “epilogue” to Phase Four.
This bit of news seems obvious on a surface level with the special debuting in the limbo period between Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (the end of Phase Four) and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (the start of Phase Five). Even still, it will be interesting to follow how Marvel Studios officially notates the holiday special. If it never receives an “official” placement in an MCU phase, it could be an omen that these one-off specials aren’t as distinctly canonically tied to the ongoing Multiverse Saga. In theory, this would be in line with how the Marvel Studios Animation wing has seemingly been sectioned off from the ongoing narratives of the live action MCU projects.
However, there is still the possibility that Marvel Studios distinctly withheld The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special from San Diego Comic-Con to instead spend time discussing the project at the D23 festivities in September. This could pair well with the assumed official reveal of Marvel Studios’ Halloween-based special coming later this year. Ultimately though, this subject is likely a continued indicator of the general banality of phase delineation and that people generally overthink the distinct meanings of them beginning and ending.
Kevin Feige once said that Marvel Studios would not appear at San Diego Comic-Con unless they could overdeliver, and this year’s event proved he wasn’t kidding. Through two major panels, one for animation and the other for live-action, the entertainment giant landed punch after punch of exciting news. Those in attendance were treated to countless announcements at a rapid fire pace, and information drops were used to both expand on known projects and reveal entirely new ones. If any fans felt left in the dark after 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, they should have a pretty good idea as to what the future holds now.
That being said, there were still quite a few titles missing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline shown at the end of the company’s Hall H presentation. Despite all the thrilling surprises, it’s hard not to wonder what might be going on with the shows and movies Feige didn’t talk about over the weekend. As such, it feels right to round up every single MCU project that’s definitely in development but somehow still on the downlow. Let’s dig in:
This was the biggest question mark coming out of Marvel’s Hall H. Armor Wars, an upcoming Disney+ series based on the comic arc of the same name was officially announced during a Disney Investor Day presentation in 2020. It’s probably the longest-standing MCU project yet to score a release window, despite a promising premise and a genuine leading man in Don Cheadle‘s War Machine. Actor, writer, and comedian Yassir Lester was brought on to serve as the series head writer almost a full year ago, and that was more or less the last time fans heard of any progress behind-the-scenes. The fact that Armor Wars wasn’t even mentioned during this year’s Comic-Con initially caused a bit of panic that the series might have been quietly canceled, until Lester took to social media and confirmed it’s still planned to release.
As history has shown, Marvel Studios is not above shifting its calendar to accommodate new things. It’s very likely that Armor Wars is simply still in its early development stages, and will be slipped into the release schedule when the company and the creatives feel everything is ready to go. It’s also possible the show’s story fits better later in the MCU timeline, and Feige just revealed its existence earlier than he ended up needing to. Until more is known, fans will just have to settle for seeing Cheadle‘s James Rhodes in Secret Invasion instead.
It really felt like this one was coming, and it’s still kind of shocking that it never did. Deadpool 3 has been in various stages of production since 2018, with its creative process being understandably delayed by Disney’s acquisition of former parent company 20th Century Fox. Since then, it’s been confirmed by the likes of Feige and star Ryan Reynolds that another film is indeed on the way. If that wasn’t enough, they’ve also revealed that this threequel will finally transition its R-rated antihero into the MCU proper.
The lead-up to this year’s convention saw Disney put both previous Deadpool films on their previously-kid-friendly streaming service, and the convention grounds themselves had the Merc with a Mouth handing out free chimichangas to promote the big additions. Nothing has ever felt like more of a sign that Marvel might announce the new entry during their Hall H panel. Alas, no Deadpool 3 was found on the timeline. At least fans can rest easy knowing Reynolds, along with franchise writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, are currently hard at work preparing Wade Wilson for his next cinematic adventure.
Marvel’s Hall H presentation was surprisingly Avengers-heavy for a franchise with so many new toys to play with. As stated before, the MCU can now legally include mutants, and more specifically, the X-Men, in their theatrical projects. Patrick Stewart became the first mutant in the MCU earlier this year when he reprised his iconic role as Professor Charles Xavier for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Iman Vellani took the reigns as part of a huge twist ending when Kamala Khan turned out to be a mutant in Ms. Marvel‘s finale episode. Now seemed like the perfect time for Marvel to announce exactly when to expect the X-Men’s return to cinemas, in a film Feige continues referring to as The Mutants, but no such confirmation ever came. Not even a peep about a potential creative team.
It’s worth noting the X-Men did have a presence at the convention, however, in the form of the animated X-Men ’97 series coming to Disney+ in fall 2023. It’s very possible Marvel held back on revealing The Mutants so that show would have time to shine, and besides, there were still about eight empty slots on that Phase 6 slide. It wouldn’t be shocking if Marvel’s Merry Mutants found themselves occupying one in the very near future.
It’s actually pretty strange that this one didn’t make the cut. It’s an incredibly open secret that Marvel Studios is developing an untitled Disney+ Halloween special centered on Werewolf by Night, but the transparency behind the project isn’t what makes its lack of attention at San Diego Comic-Con so weird. Not only does this one-hour special have a director in longtime composer Michael Giacchino, a runtime, and a full-blown cast in Gael García Bernal and Laura Donnelly, it’s actually already completed filming and is supposedly set to release in October of this year. It seems like, by this point, it should at least have an official title. Yet, the elongated Marvel One-Shot, or whatever it may be, was not even included in the MCU’s Phase 4 when Feige discussed the future timeline with fans, despite coming out before the Phase ends with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
It’s starting to look like Marvel Studios doesn’t consider holiday-themed specials as part of their actual Phase plan. Much like the still-untitled Halloween special, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is all filmed and rearing to go for this December season. Set photos, promotional merchandise, and a lot of updates from director James Gunn have kept fans satiated for the past year, but an official release date would be a nicer present for under the tree.
It wasn’t that long ago fans learned Simon Williams would be coming to the MCU. It was just last month The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton and Community writer Andrew Guest would create a Wonder Man series for Disney+. The article mentioned that cameras could begin rolling on the show as soon as 2023, so many fans felt that an official announcement from Marvel might come out of Hall H. Sadly, Feige‘s presentation ended without any sort of Phase placement or casting reveal for Wonder Man. Perhaps supporters of the longtime Avenger will have better luck at D23.
Nova is maybe the most elusive MCU project in the company’s history. The character has been rumored to appear in a number of projects since it seems, the beginning of the company’s history. It was once confirmed that Richard Rider, the last of the Nova Corps, was intended to appear in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, but was cut for the sake of trimming story fat. All hope seemed lost until news dropped in March that a Disney+ series focusing on the character was in development from Moon Knight scribe Sabir Pirzada. Of course, this led many to believe Marvel would finally make the project official at Comic-Con, putting an end to the cult-like social media campaign to bring Nova to live-action. Maybe Marvel likes all the begging because that obviously didn’t happen.
Black Panther Spin-Offs
Early last year, it was reported by Deadline that Marvel Studios had put two Black Panther spin-off series into development at Disney+. One was said to revolve around Danai Gurira‘s Okoye, while the other would be Wakanda-centric and produced by director Ryan Coogler. Not much has been heard about either show since then, even if many expected at least one to be announced alongside Wakanda Forever‘s portion of the night’s program. Much like the mutant situation before it, this could be due to the fact Marvel wanted its highly-anticipated sequel to get every bit of the attention.
Not long after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings became a massive success, it was announced that director Cretton and star Simu Liu would return for another go-around. It wasn’t likely that Marvel would make a big fuss about the future project with so much else to cover, but it did seem logical that a title reveal or release date could come with the outlining of Phases 4-6. While this didn’t pan out, fans can still be excited to see Cretton come back for Disney+’s Wonder Man, which as previously mentioned, also wasn’t discussed at Comic-Con.
Reshoots aren’t uncommon for Marvel Studios, and it’s no surprise that their latest Disney+ series Secret Invasion is doing the same. Yet, a new statement by actor Christopher McDonald, who joined the series some time ago, revealed that the production may have added an additional writer to the project. While he doesn’t name anyone specifically or how he got involved, but it does seem like they are getting ready to add some new elements to the reshoots.
His statement in the interview with Awards Focus not only highlights that he’s quite “amped” about the series and teases that they may be adding some more depth with the reshoots. Perhaps they are also using this opportunity to mix things up, as you never know who to trust in a Skrull invasion.
The director Ali Selim is fantastic, and it’s a delight to play this storyline because it’s really, really good. We’re actually heading back to London on Tuesday to do additional scenes. They’re doing reshoots in a way that’s making the story better. Apparently, there’s a new writer in there. He’s amped it up, and the series is going so much deeper than before.
Christopher McDonald
It’s certainly interesting but not unheard of that they have a new writer join the project. Of course, this doesn’t mean that anyone is leaving the project without any actual confirmation. Rather, it may be that scheduling conflicts kept a writer from joining production; let’s not forget COVID is still a thing. In a way, they may have needed someone to join in to help out with the reshoots, but also add some new perspectives potentially to keep everyone guessing which direction the Skrulls invasion is truly going.
Sony’s Disney+ expansion continues as it looks like Disney+ Brazil is going to add the Spider-Man spinoff Venom to the service on August 5th. We’ve seen quite a few key markets add Spider-Man-related projects throughout July and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down anytime soon. So, if you live in Brazil and have been looking forward to seeing the film again the chance will be here soon.
August is going to be quite stuffed for Disney+, as we not only have one but two Marvel TV series premiering–though one is a small animated project filled with Groot adorableness–and a new Star Wars series focused on Cassian Andor. The third season of High School Musical: The Series: The Musical is also releasing episodes, which has been one o the few shows still around since the streaming service premiered.
Venom is already slowly starting work on its third entry into the franchise. It’s still crazy to think that the franchise is technically connected with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Spider-Man: No Way Home revealed that he ended up in the Marvel-owned franchise before being booted right out of it again. Who knows if he might get another chance to battle Spidey in another visit to the MCU in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Sony is still moving forward with its Spider-Man franchise without the wallcrawler actually ever showing up, but there’s a chance that Madame Web could potentially be the one to set up his introduction. Though, there’s a chance that a multiversal storyline is what connects every project moving forward. No matter what, Disney+ is getting its hands on some fun projects and expanding its filmography.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year has certailny added some confusion in regards to where it takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The official press release continued to hint that it’ll act as a prequel to Captain America: Civil War but then the San Diego Comic-Con revealed that the story will explore Peter’s time learning from Norman Osborne. So, confusion was the result for many on how the series connects to the MCU.
As it turns out, it doesn’t. It seems that they are telling a different kind of story where the events of Civil War are explored in a part of the multiverse. It’ll explore what happens if instead of Tony Stark, Norman Osborn is there to welcome him. So, perhaps this new version of Peter Parker could potentially become part of the mainline MCU in a future project as we further explore the multiverse. Here’s the full quote from Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel Studios’ animation department.
Well, like we said, in the panel, it follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War. Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe
Brad Winderbaum
It’s unclear if the other Avengers are still a part of the normal timeline and only his story changes, but we do know Daredevil and Doctor Strange will appear. Charlie Cox will even voice his iconic hero, which adds to the potential connection between these projects. It would be fun if we also get an animated version of Wilson Fisk joining the project to pay tribute to the original 90s animated series and his major role in that project.
We’ve long been wondering what to expect from Secret Invasions. There’s a lot of talk surrounding the project, especially with its Skrull invasion potentially putting everyone’s identity on the line. Who knows if the people we’ll follow are human or Skrulls? For now, it seems that a new report by Illuminerdi may offer a little insight into who one character is playing, Olivia Colman.
According to their sources, Colman will take on a gender-swapped version of Union Jack. There are currently three versions of the character,e and it’s unclear if they are sticking to the recent version of Joseph Chapman, who had a run-in with the Skrulls. There is also James Montgomery Falsworth and his son Brian Falsworth. Perhaps she’s a gender-swapped version of Falsworth, which would keep the door open for the mantle to be passe don potentially at one point in the future.
It’s great seeing more international characters get adapted, and it’ll be interesting to see if we explore their shared history as fellow agents. Perhaps Fury and this gender-swapped version of Union Jack share quite the history that’ll help add to the suspense of when they can’t trust anyone anymore. We’re definitely interested to see how they tackle this project and especially toy with us from week to week, as we start questioning who is and isn’t part of the invasion.
Like most things from the comics, the MCU takes a lot of creative liberties in the way they shape their own world. She-Hulk’s origin will be no exception as a brand new TV spot confirms a very different origin than the comics.
Looks like they changed her origins from getting a blood transfusion to getting Bruce's blood mixed in with hers during a car crash.
In an exclusive TV spot from Entertainment Tonight, it is revealed that Jennifer Walters gets her gamma-blood not through a blood transfusion but through a car accident. In the comics, Jennifer is shot by an assailant and is given a Hail Mary blood transfusion by her cousin. The TV spot also unveils several scenes that the trailers haven’t showcased including fourth-wall-breaking moments and scenes with the rest of the ensemble.
There have been quite a few statements in the past in regard to how VFX is handled throughout the industry. While a new piece by Vulture, an anonymous member of the VFX industry shares his experiences working on a Marvel project, and the deeply rooted challenges that come with it. It’s been known that they aren’t an easy client going by past statements, but it offers a bit more insight into what exactly the feeling is working for the media giant.
At the tail-end of the article, there’s a point made that this is “universal to every show and every project.” Marvel’s power is that they have a certain hold on the industry with many bidding to get their hands on the next major project. There are even tales of one VFX agency getting blacklisted due to not delivering on a suddenly new third act. One issue highlighted is that Marvel Studios’ directors aren’t well-versed in how to work with visual effects, which slams their departments.
They also are giving those very directors a lot more freedom, which needs up leading to various changes. Marvel simply has the power to demand it and VFX agencies are, at times, desperate enough to make promises that don’t benefit them directly. They highlight how sometimes they don’t have a director of photography involved during post-production, which leads to some last-minute changes; highlighting Black Panther‘s final act.
The demand to see final renders to support those novice directors, who mostly have indie backgrounds, also creates the issue of adding more work to the department. They also are “pixel-fucked” as they state due to nitpicking to ensure every last pixel is perfect, as they also try to change things up late throughout productions. Their demand of wanting changes throughout production, something expected due to their perchance of doing reshoots, is definitely adding to that issue. Something they highlight on how some people experience working on these projects.
I was working seven days a week, averaging 64 hours a week on a good week. Marvel genuinely works you really hard. I’ve had co-workers sit next to me, break down, and start crying. I’ve had people having anxiety attacks on the phone
The big issue lies that VFX houses aren’t unionized and many can demand these sorts of last-minute changes and high-level demands for an affordable price. This isn’t a VFX-specific issue as the entire ad industry is built around that exact same model only with less focus set on it; speaking of experience. An issue is also management trying to keep the client happy, making unrealistic promises that then add pressure to the staff that has to actually realize that very venture.
Marvel is a big brand with Disney backing them, these issues are then also raised due to middle and upper management expectations to appease whatever was set during a pitch process. We have heard many director’s praise the freedom they have working on these projects, and that creative freedom to change and adapt has its price.
One thing is for sure, the work being done is still at a high level; no matter what the internet tends to say. Under the conditions they are working on, the work should not be dragged down. As the article points out, it’s a universal issue and it definitely will not slow down until any further action is taken within the industry. Marvel is not just a big fish; they are the biggest fish at the moment. The best direction is for Marvel to give its creative teams more support in regards to VFX, tighten those productions up to allow fewer last-minute changes, and lastly, that the industry will be able to unionize.
Marvel Studios’ Thor franchise refuses to stop growing. When the first installment released in 2011, many assumed it would only spawn a trilogy, but now it’s a decade later and the series is four films deep with no signs of slowing down. At this point, it seems like the adventures of everyone’s favorite Asgardians are destined to spill over into television, the same way many of Marvel’s other cinematic tentpoles have spun off on Disney+ in the last few years. If this does end up being the case, actress Jamie Alexander has a pretty good idea of what she’d like to see happen.
The former Blindspot star has revealed she’d like Marvel Studios to make a series starring Lady Sif, a fierce warrior and close friend of Thor. Alexander has portrayed Sif in three of four Thor films and has also brought the character to life in guest spots on the shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Loki. Now, she’d like fans to help in getting her a show of her own. She pleaded publicly via Variety:
Listen up, guys — if you want to see a Lady Sif series, start pitching your ideas and we’ll put something together and make it happen. It would be so much fun continuing this.
Jamie Alexander
While Sif has been mostly relegated to supporting status in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she has a long history in the original comics that could offer plenty of material for a solo outing. The character has often been linked romantically with Thor but also has a fun past with fan favorite hero Beta Ray Bill. Perhaps a Disney+ series starring Alexander’s Sif could be the best place to introduce Bill to the wider MCU? Only time, and according to Alexander – the fans – will tell.
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