Marvel Studios’ Eternals went through 7000 years’ worth of MCU history and explored the mysterious beings’ journey on the planet. It further elaborated on the origin of the Celestials and ended with the Eternals preventing the emergence of Tiamut. However, their plan didn’t go exactly as they thought it would. After the emergence was sabotaged, Arishem the judge abducted the earthly Eternals, to evaluate their memories in order to judge humankind on Earth.
While the consequences of the emergence weren’t explored much, rumors suggest the upcoming Thunderbolts movie and Captain America: New World Order could end up retconning the corpse as Genosha, a mutant nation. An Eternals sequel hasn’t been confirmed to be in development, so these may be the only tie-ins to that film for quite some time and a new statement by Kumail Nanjiani, who portrayed Kingo in Eternals, backs up that premise.
In an interview with Total Film, Nanjiani was asked if he had any plans to reprise the role of Kingo. He replied that he didn’t “know if they [had] plans”, and that he would “love to come back.”
Yeah! I mean, listen, I have plans today. I don’t know if they have plans. I would love to come back. But I’m sort of waiting to hear when or if that’s going to happen. I’m hoping I get to do more. I had a great time playing that character. It’d be a shame if he’s a sort of one and done. But, you know, the decision’s not mine to make.
Kumail Nanjiani
This isn’t long after Ma Dong-seok‘s (who portrays Gilgamesh) management agency listed Eternals 2 among other upcoming projects featuring the actor. We know from MCU executive Nate Moore that Harry Styles wasn’t cast as Starfox/Eros “for a tag”, and there are “more stories to be told” with his character. With more and more information surfacing on the sequel with each passing day, it’s safe to say Eternals 2 will be happening in the near future.
Marvel Studios remains a hot commodity for actors, especially as they are busy preparing for the next era of projects that lead into the new duo of Avengers films. Marvel Studios has not only been casting new talent in the industry but also saw a pivot to include already well-established actors such as Mahershala Ali leading a Blade film; whenever it gets the cameras rolling. Now, it seems that Pedro Pascal is also excited to potentially join the franchise.
In an interview with WIRED, the actor got to talk about the upcoming The Last of Us series and generally look back at his career. In one moment, he was asked if he had gotten where he is now when he was younger if he’d want to avoid a “traditional Marvel role” with CG, to which he swiftly answers: “but I do want that. I want to be in movies.” He also goes on to highlight how he views what being a hero means.
There’s so many ways to misunderstand people and to forget that, at the end of the day, your neighbor is very likely to give you the shirt off their own back. The interchanges that you have with strangers are, more often than not, human. But then you can go and look shit up and be terrified by how divided we all apparently are. To comfort myself, I just remember that everybody I come in contact with is sort of, in their own way, heroically kind.
Pedro Pascal
Pascal has already had the chance to join the DC Extended Universe, where he played the character of Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984. Yet, he hasn’t had the chance to become a hero and it seems he’s ready to wear a CG cape to jump into the Marvel Cinematic Universe though he doesn’t specify which Marvel universe.
James Cameron‘s Avatar: The Way Of Water continues to dominate the box office over the holiday weekend, but that doesn’t mean other films aren’t holding on as well. Disney’s other massive release of the year, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has still been going strong as it now stands at $820M worldwide. Many worried that heading to Disney+ too early could drag its box office down, but it seems that it’s being given quite a lot of time to breathe.
After several weeks of listing the movie as “Coming Soon to Disney+”, the platform has finally updated the page, which is now listed as “Coming to Disney+ February 1, 2023.” Not too long ago, Disney+’s support team apparently confirmed the movie to be released on January 20th on the streaming service, which now has been seemingly debunked. It’s unclear if they may have pushed back the release date, or perhaps the Support Team jumped the gun on sharing the information.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+.
The time duration between the end of the theatrical window and the Disney+ release has varied quite a lot, from Black Widow‘s 0 days (with Disney+ premier access) to Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings‘ 81 days. Most recent projects have commonly released around the 45-day mark, which has led to some fear of its influence on a film’s box office performance. Luckily, it seems Disney is moving away from exactly that.
February 1st also marks the start of Black History Month in the United States and Canada, which might be part of the decision as to why this date was chosen. Just like all the other MCU movies streaming on Disney+, this will be available to watch in IMAX enhanced, which allows viewers to have an immersive experience and enjoy the beauty of Wakanda and Talokan in the comfort of their homes.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.
Murphy’s Multiverse’s Extremely Talented João Roque Pinto
The Marvel Cinematic Universe
This should come as no surprise. Of course, fans flock to MCU news. Splitting it into films and Disney+ series, the biggest movie news seems predictable. But our readers’ interest in the series is perhaps a bit unique. Of course, in general, the most interesting MCU news this year came from San Diego Comic Con’s debut of Marvel Studios’ slate for Phases 5 and 6, culminating in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a big moment in 2022 for countless reasons. The MCU's newest anti-hero, Namor, finally made his live-action debut. While many want to see the return of the character, it may not be in the form of a solo film. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore confirmed that the character can definitely return in a future project, but Disney is not able to produce a standalone project based around the character. It seems the rights are still with Universal, who also holds the rights to Hulk and was the reason that character never got a sequel since the Edward Norton film back in 2008.
As a side note, MM readers apparently got a kick out of our Ultimate Lists of What to Watch Before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder. If you thought the Multiverse of Madness list was chaos, just imagine what the Ultimate List for Secret Wars will look like (hint: the entire MCU and then some). Rest assured, an Ultimate List for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will hit the internet soon.
Readers also flocked to news about the upcoming Secret Invasion. Perhaps fitting for the show, some of the most-read articles involved leaked set photos or rumors about the identity of characters—specifically Emilia Clarke's character—whose identity will further be questioned throughout the series.
To be honest, DC has been a mess for quite some time. Whether you love(d) the DCEU (and/or all of the things that were in the DC multiverse but not the DC Extended Universe, which makes no sense), hated it, or (most likely) were indifferent to it, it existed. However, late this year all of it was thrown into complete additional chaos when it was announced that James GunnandPeter Safran would be taking over as co-leaders of the newly-formed DC Studios. There is plenty to try and unpack so far—for example, Henry Cavill is no longer Superman. Who else will be recast? What will they do with their current 2023 slate that includes The Flash, Aquaman 2, Blue Beetle, and Shazam 2?
Given they distract from the movies, aren’t always followed through on and the disturbing trend in their quality, it really is time for the Marvel post-credit scene to be retired. We’ll always have that kiss between Jane and Thor…before Jane disappeared for a decade.
Charles Murphy
If you still have too many opinions about it, feel free to hop right back into that conversation. But screaming into the Twitter void about movies feels so 2022. 2023 is better...right?
Honorable Mentions
It's not all about superheroes, though MM readers certainly love them. But in 2022 we had some major interest in several other things. Check out some of the most noteworthy ones below.
We’ve come to learn over the months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ release that the film originally had many more cameos planned besides the already great additions we got. Among the many Illuminati members was the fact that Daniel Craig was going to play the role of Balder the Brave, a Thor stand-in for the multiversal group. We know that he couldn’t join the production and they ended up adding John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic.
Now, a new Instagram post has found a way online from Elizabeth Olsen‘s stunt double, CC Ice, who took to her personal Instagram account to look back at the filming of the brutal takedown of the team group at the hands of Wanda Maximoff at a rampage. In it, we get a good look at someone lying on the floor impaired by a sword. Going by the design, it’s clearly Balder the Brave.
For those wondering how there is a BTS image of him on the floor even though they couldn’t get Craig in the film, they used stand-ins for various roles before they could finalize who would eventually become a part of the production. It’s one of the results of the chaotic rumors being spread online due to how many eventualities they prepared for in case they could get some cast members to join the production.
It’s always interesting to see what may have been and it’s once again impressive how they made this team work together even though they didn’t film them all around the same time due to COVID restrictions. Plus, they managed to make the environment look as impressive as they did with the use of a green screen. It makes you wonder if we’ll get BTS images of other cameos that never made it into the final product.
There were so many things we enjoyed about Eternals, but it is safe to say that it ended up being one of Marvel’s most divisive films. It had the unenviable tasks of building the world Post-Endgame, retconning heroes into key events of said world, and explaining their absence during an all-hands-on-deck situation versus Thanos. As it turns out, it also had to set the tone for the conflict ahead in Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts (if some of what we’ve heard is to be believed). Now, with a new rumor suggesting that Chloé Zhao will not return to helm an Eternals sequel, we thought it made sense to look at five directors who could take over for her and deliver on the things that worked in the original while not repeating the things that didn’t.
Brad Bird
The director of Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol and The Incredibles tops this list because of his experience with big ensembles, ability to craft action sequences and the talent to juggle the absurd with the serious when it comes to plots.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Everything Everywhere All At Once is, without question, one of the best films of 2022, and its directors deserve the opportunity to helm a big-budget adventure like Eternals 2. They, also, nailed the time-travel/Multiversal ideas of that film, which will come in handy as they navigate an Eternals sequel that could tap into those themes. Keep in mind that Marvel Studios already wanted them to direct Loki, so it’s not like Kevin Feige and Co. don’t know who they are.
Steven Spielberg
Kevin Feige got his white whale when Harrison Ford agreed to take over as Thaddeus Ross following the death of William Hurt. Could he go big game hunting for the Eternals sequel? It’s definitely possible, but this isn’t the only reason Feige has to make the call. Spielberg’s ability to craft nuanced stories around dysfunctional family-like units would lend itself well to a group that is trying to find their kidnapped family members. There is, also, something kismet about Feige snagging the director of Close Encounters of the Third Kind after he basically shat all over superhero movies.
Deborah Chow
Fresh off delivering the incredible Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, there’s something poetic about a Chinese female director being replaced by another Chinese female director just as Marvel Studios talks about continuing to diversify their director suite. Chow crafted something fresh for Obi-Wan, and she was able to find a way to make people care about a character who we had seen so much of already. She respected the lore of Star Wars, all while really expanding the universe in very intriguing ways. Given the role that we believe Eternals will play in the MCU going forward, Chow could do the same for this part of the world.
Travis Knight
The man responsible for giving us an actual Transformers movie and not whatever Michael Bay gave us, Travis Knight showed that he could juggle emotional beats and serious action in one film. However, it’s his work on Kubo and The Two Strings that make us excited about him potentially directing this. That movie brought some beautiful visuals to a really heartwarming story, and while you don’t want the next director to replicate everything Zhao did, you must admit that it was a stunning movie. Knight could do 70% of that while improving the action significantly.
Of course, at the moment there’s no indication that Eternals 2 is in the works or that Zhao wouldn’t be on board if it were. In that case, this could also just be a nice list of directors who we’d like to see working with Marvel Studios at some point down the road.
Marvel Studios’ Phase 5 slate kicks off in less than two months with Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and concludes in the Fall of 2024 with Deadpool 3. Phase 5 will explore cryptic MCU divisions such as the Quantum Realm, the supernatural and, of course, the Multiverse. It will also tackle some geopolitical stories and the real world-building will be done by two movies that will come back-to-back in 2024: Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts.
A fourth Captain America project was confirmed to be in the works at SDCC ’22 after Sam Wilson picked up the shield in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Set to be directed by Julius Onah and scribed by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, the film will see the return of Tim Blake Nelson‘s Samuel Sterns as the villain after nearly 16 years of absence from the MCU.
A new rumor from insider Daniel RPK continues to tie the two films together. The rumor states that the plot of Captain America: New World Order will focus on an international conflict over Adamantium, discovered on Tiamut. Harrison Ford‘s Thunderbolt Ross (the POTUS) will join in on the Adamantium Rush and be the main antagonist of the film. Sam Wilson will oppose his plan and assemble a new team of superheroes to put an end to his scheme. This rumor didn’t spring up long after another rumor, very similar to this one, surfaced on the internet. The only difference between the two was that the other rumor described the situation from the Thunderbolts’ perspective, suggesting that both movies might be part of the same duology of a major power struggle over Genosha.
Captain America: New World Order releases in theaters on May 3, 2024. Thunderbolts arrives in theaters on July 26, 2024.
Charlie Cox couldn’t be more excited about continuing to portray Matt Murdock and Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After bringing the dual personalities to life in 2015 on the Netflix streaming series Daredevil, which was canceled after 3 seasons, Cox was given new life as the character when Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, reached out ahead of production on 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
“Kevin Feige called and said, ‘We’d like to bring you into the MCU’”, said Cox of the fateful call in an interview with NME. “I was over the moon,” said the star. “I love this character.” That call ended with Cox agreeing to cameos in No Way Home and the 2022 streaming series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. Beyond that, Cox’s future as the character was undefined. That’s all changed now as Cox is scheduled for a fairly large role in the Disney Plus streaming series Echo ahead of starring alongside Vincent D’Onofrio in the 18-episode streamer, Daredevil: Born Again.
Cox’s appearance in She-Hulk, where he played the character as “quick-witted and funny and charismatic and carefree at times“, according to Cox, probably isn’t the template for the character going forward. Cox knows that fans of Netflix’s Daredevil loved the brooding, bloody and brutal tone of the show, but he also knows this new series is headed for Disney Plus. “My opinion is this character works best when he’s geared toward a slightly more mature audience,” said Cox, while cautioning, “my instinct is that on Disney+ it will be dark but it probably won’t be as gory.” So what exactly is Daredevil: Born Again going to shape up to be?
Cox has gone on record before, calling Daredevil: Born Again a “whole new deal“, a sentiment he reiterated to NME. “This has to be a reincarnation,” said Cox of Born Again. “It has to be different, otherwise why are we doing it?” So what should the fans who fell in love with the iteration of the character whose story was told over 3 seasons on Netflix? “I would say to those people, we’ve done that. Let’s take the things that really worked, but can we broaden? Can we appeal to a slightly younger audience without losing what we’ve learned about what works?”
That’s not exactly encouraging news for fans of the TV-MA version of the character; however, it’s consistent with what Cox has been saying all along.
Amid speculation that Marvel Studios would look to cut back on its output, a new rumor has emerged that the studio is developing a spinoff for an upcoming project that hasn’t begun production yet. According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios a Sentry-centric solo project, following the character who is rumored to be the villain of 2024’s Thunderbolts.
The new rumor is interesting in that the Sentry has yet to be officially revealed as the villain of Marvel Studio’s Thunderbolts. The rumors of Sentry’s appearance in Thunderbolts stem from a report that Marvel Studios was looking to cast an actor to play an “evil Superman” in the film. That report generated a couple of rounds of speculation about which of Marvel’s Superman analogs might make the best “evil” version, first with Hyperion and then Sentry. With Thunderbolts being a Super Soldier-heavy project already, Sentry’s comic book ties to the Super Soldier serum form the foundation of a fairly strong argument that he’d be the better choice of the two.
The latest rumor doesn’t indicate if the Sentry project, should it make its way out of development, would be a prequel or a sequel, though if the Marvel Studios adaptation of the character is anything like his comic book counterpart, he’ll be pretty tough to kill, especially for the group of characters who currently make up the Thunderbolts, so a sequel would not be off the table. Perhaps the development of a solo project could be used to help attract a big-name actor to the role who would be interested in signing on as more than just a one-off villain.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse will feature more than 240 characters and will be set in 6 universes! The second trailer for the new installment in Sony’s Spider-Verse saga featured more than 20 webslingers, and this was just the beginning. The first plot details for the sequel have already confirmed Miles going rogue against the other variants, which we can’t wait to see.
As explained by director Kemp Powers in an interview with Empire, Miguel O’Hara, voiced by Oscar Isaac, will be the leader of a “band of fighters that are trying to clean up the consequences of the collider explosion at the end of the first movie.” As seen in the trailer, the fighters are obviously variants of Spider-Man who will be part of an organization working against The Spot.
However, the variants won’t be the main villains of the movie. As confirmed by the film’s producers and director, The Spot will be the villain of both the sequels to Into The Spider-Verse. Powers teased a secret connection between Miles and The Spot, which will be explored in the movie.
The Spot is an interesting villain because he seems like a joke, but when you really look at his powers, there’s incredible potential. His ability to open portals across dimensions sets him up perfectly for the Spider-Verse. He’s the villain of the next two films… and let’s just say that the Spot and Miles are connected in surprising ways.
Kemp Powers
New Poster For ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’
Sony Pictures Animation has released the first official poster for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Feast your eyes on it below:
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