Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: MCU News

  • One of Marvel Studios’ Highest-Rated Series Reportedly Facing a Major Season 2 Slowdown

    One of Marvel Studios’ Highest-Rated Series Reportedly Facing a Major Season 2 Slowdown

    After a rough 2023, Marvel Studios turned to the X-Men to help reclaim its position at pop culture’s top dog in 2024. Deadpool & Wolverine was always expected to do big business at the box office (and it did just that, currently sitting as the 5th highest-grossing MCU project of all time) but it was another X-Men project that provided a spark of renewed hope when the studio needed it most.

    While Deadpool & Wolverine landed as expected, Marvel Studios’ animated streaming series, X-Men ’97, delivered more than anyone could have hoped, immediately capturing its audience and holding onto it over its 10-episode run. The animated revival, dripping with nostalgia, showed fans just what stories about the band of mutant heroes can be and left fans on the edge with its season-finale cliffhanger. In the wake of the finale, the studio shared encouraging news that Season 2 wouldn’t be too far off but now, a new report brings some potential bad tidings on that front.

    According to Nexus Point News, Season 2 of X-Men ’97 is unlikely to hit Disney Plus before 2026, citing changes to the story following the firing of showrunner Beau DeMayo earlier this year.
    (L-R): Beast (voiced by George Buza), Roberto Da Costa (voiced by Gui Agustini), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), and Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

    Before his dismissal, DeMayo had completed work on the scripts for the sophomore season and had outlined a 5-season plan for the series which he teased involved the villain Onslaught and an adaptation of the revered Age of Apocalypse Marvel Comics crossover event. Ms. Marvel and What If…? scribe Matthew Chauncey landed the job as the new head writer of the series and while his duties were expected to begin with Season 3, NPN reports he is now rewriting DeMayo’s drafts for Season 2.

    Earlier this year, it was reported that Season 2 of X-Men ’97 was in post-production and eyeing a 2025 debut on D+. However, in May, Marvel TV and Animation head honcho Brad Winderbaum cautioned fans to exercise patience, saying the series was “still in animatic phase“, adding that “animation takes so long to make.” Should this new report hold true, it looks like fans will have to exhibit a bit more patience than they’d probably care to do.

    Source: Nexus Point News

  • Controversial Marvel Multiverse Saga Villain Rumored for a Major Role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Controversial Marvel Multiverse Saga Villain Rumored for a Major Role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    So far, Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga has not quite lived up to the expectations as a follow-up to the Infinity Saga. While the studio’s first three phases had bumps in the road, the combination of a pandemic, the tragic loss of one of the studio’s biggest stars, work stoppages in Hollywood and some really bad decisions have led to the perception that Marvel Studios has lost its way. Keenly aware of that perception, Disney dialed up an intervention and began to make key changes behind the scenes. So far, it would be hard to argue with the results as a string of good projects has begun to erase the (short) memory of the public and reestablish the MCU as a pop culture giant; however, with another two-plus years of projects planned to finish up the Multiverse Saga, there’s still plenty of work to do.

    Part of that work is continuing to separate the future from the bad decisions of the past…which has led them to reach further into the past. Following the studio’s decision to part ways with Jonathan Majors, who was contracted to play multiple versions of Kang and serve as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga, Kevin Feige turned to Infinity Saga legends Anthony and Joe Russo and Robert Downey Jr. to save the day by rebuilding Avengers: The Kang Dynasty as Avengers: Doomsday. Pivoting to a new villain at the core of the Multiverse Saga opened up the playbook a bit for the studio, allowing for characters who perhaps weren’t slated for major roles to find one (and it also pushed some characters right out of the stories planned for the next few years. And for one character in particular, that reportedly may mean a redemption arc that will thrill a large segment of MCU fandom.

    According to insider My Time to Shine Hello, the Russos and writer Stephen McFeely have carved out a large role for Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Doomsday.

    Following the events of WandaVision, which saw the character hold the entire town of Westview hostage within her grief-induced hex, Wanda’s study of the Darkhold corrupted her. By the time she appeared again in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda had become the Scarlet Witch and acted as the film’s main antagonist. Though based on comic book lore, the decision by writer Michael Waldron to utilize the character as a villain was controversial. Already a popular character, Wanda’s fanbase grew significantly during WandaVision‘s weekly run on Disney Plus. Following the film’s release, Waldron addressed the fanbase’s issues with Wanda’s heel turn, saying “I guess I would say to the WandaVision fans, like, I get it. Watching a character you love do bad things sucks. That elicits a strong feeling, which is what we’re trying to do in the movies. We never would have done it if it didn’t feel like the next step in her character journey.“

    To me, my interpretation of the story of WandaVision was, that Wanda is confronting her grief in that show, but I don’t think she’s necessarily conquering it. It’s a show about her living in denial to some extent and she’s conquering her denial, but I don’t think that she’s properly reckoning with her anger over what she’s endured, and that anger is what she carries with her as she walks away with the knowledge that she is the Scarlet Witch and with the Darkhold, this evil book. And I think it’s that anger that the Darkhold preys upon and pushes her on what is a, to me and I think to Wanda, a very justifiable, noble journey. She just wants her kids.

    -Michael Waldron on Wanda Maximoff’s villainous role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

    The rumor of Wanda’s potential role in Avengers: Doomsday is the latest in a wave of recent rumblings about the character’s future. Following a report that a Scarlet Witch solo project may be moving ahead at the studio, WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer, who is rumored to be co-writing the script for the film, fueled the fanbase’s fire a bit by stating she couldn’t talk about the project “right now.”

    Though there’s no mention of what Wanda’s role in Avengers: Doomsday might entail, the character does have an interesting comic book history with that film’s title character, Victor Von Doom, that current and future events in the MCU’s ongoing shared narrative could easily be setting up. With things at Marvel Studios more unsettled than ever and with the powers that be apparently deciding to accelerate the ending of the Multiverse Saga, it’s best not to become too attached to any one particular idea at this time; however, a redemption arc for the Scarlet Witch is one idea that continues to look fairly promising.

  • ‘Thunderbolts*’ Teaser Reveals Mysterious New MCU Organization

    ‘Thunderbolts*’ Teaser Reveals Mysterious New MCU Organization

    Much has been made about the changes that have taken place behind the scenes at Marvel Studios since Bob Iger returned to Disney. The number of series and films has been reduced, productions have been paused, rewritten and reshot and the fates of others seemingly lie in the balance as the Multiverse Saga is being reworked on the fly. Slightly less attention has been paid, however, to the not-so-subtle shift in the typically tight-lipped studio’s marketing approach.

    Projects such as Agatha All Along and The Fantastic Four: First Steps seemed to serve as guinea pigs for fun new strategies to engage the public far sooner and more directly than what the studio had done in the past. Additionally (and perhaps driven by leaks) teaser trailers for upcoming films, such as 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World, started making their way online earlier than in the past.

    Thunderbolts*, another 2025 project has also utilized some non-traditional strategies to gather some momentum. Earlier this year, star Florence Pugh released a staged, behind-the-scenes video from the film’s set which revealed a slight change to the film’s title with an asterisk being added. That asterisk has driven dialogue online as fans speculate and theorize about just what its inclusion might mean and the studio has certainly embraced if not encouraged the discourse. In addition to that bit of fun, the studio also sneakily dropped an extended teaser for the film on September 23rd, more than seven months before it hits theaters. And while the fine folks at Marvel Studios did their best to keep their secrets, they did leave one clue in the background that reveals the identity of a mysterious new organization that will be introduced to the MCU in the film.

    At the 1:33 mark of the trailer, after Pugh’s Yelena Belova recovers from the attempt by Wyatt Russell’s John Walker to kill her, a symbol can be glimpsed on a crate over Belova’s left shoulder.

    Though the symbol is at an odd angle, upon a little zoom, zoom, zoom and a boom-boom, it can be recognized as a fancy combination of the letters O, X and E. And while it may not be as easily recognizable to fans as other members of Marvel’s alphabet soup club such as S.H.I.E.L.D. or S.W.O.R.D., O.X.E. is an established organization from the pages of Marvel Comics and it has ties to one of the main characters in Thunderbolts*.

    Iterations of O.X.E. exist in both Marvel Comics’ 616 and Ultimate universes and while the true nature of either entity isn’t actually too clear, they were both founded by… Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. After first appearing in The Falcon and The Winter Solider, the MCU’s version of Val–played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has been busy recruiting her own team of operatives such as Walker and Belova. And if it wasn’t already clear enough after watching the teaser, Val is using her O.X.E. facility as a holding tank for Lewis Pullman‘s “Bob” and has sent all her cronies there to die, whether by Bob’s hands–or eyes–or by each other’s, as she seeks a new position within the U.S. Goverment. It’s also very likely that the masked gunmen who are given the unenviable task of shooting up Bob are Val’s O.X.E. goons.

    Of course, the teaser has plenty of other fun reveals such as Val’s now comic-accurate hair, improved new looks for Ghost and Taskmaster, the Sentry belt logo and a renovated Stark/Avengers Tower. From the looks of it, Black Widow 2 Thunderbolts* may have greatly benefitted from the delays it faced as it the script was rewritten and polished up by several writers over the past couple of years. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what role, if any, Val and O.X.E. play in the MCU or if it was just an easy organization to write in as a one-off.

    Thunderbolts* is set to arrive in theaters on May 2, 2025.

  • Marvel TV Boss Finally Addresses Long-Standing ‘Ghost Rider’ Rumors

    Marvel TV Boss Finally Addresses Long-Standing ‘Ghost Rider’ Rumors

    While the events of Agatha All Along spin out of Marvel Studios’ first streaming series, WandaVision, the new Marvel Television also plays as a bit of a spiritual successor to Werewolf By Night. Darker and spookier than WandaVision, Agatha All Along examines witchcraft through a far more supernatural lens than its predecessor, embracing old-school horror in a way reminiscent of Michael Giacchino‘s 2022 Special Presentation. Curses, demons, ghosts, haunted houses and more await Agatha’s coven of chaos, fleshing out the MCU’s supernatural corner in a way no project other than Werewolf By Night has done.

    While choosing Agatha All Along as the vehicle to explore the supernatural world further, that exploration is something that Marvel Studios has been rumored to have an interest in for years. In addition to the studio’s struggling Blade feature film, rumors have suggested that development on projects such as Midnight Sons and Ghost Rider has been underway at different points in time over the past several years.

    In the case of Ghost Rider, rumors have ranged from the studio having lined up The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus to portray Johnny Blaze to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Gabriel Luna jumping to the MCU to reprise the role of Robbie Reyes to Nicholas Cage making a cameo appearance as the character in Deadpool & Wolverine. To date, of course, there’s been nary a Ghost Rider to be found but that may change soon if Marvel’s head of streaming, television and animation, Brad Winderbaum, gets his way.

    In an interview with Collider, Winderbaum revealed that if he had the option to green light one Marvel Television streaming series, it would indeed be Ghost Rider; however, there’s a catch…

    “I would wanna do the Danny Ketch era of Ghost Rider,” revealed Winderbaum. “I think there are a lot of people who would be here for some Ghost Rider.“

    On Winderbaum’s last point, there can be no doubt. While any version of Ghost Rider may never be one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters, the character’s aesthetic is inarguably one of their most iconic. And while Blaze was the comic’s OG Ghost Rider, he’s hardly the only character to house the Spirit of Vengeance. And while Winderbaum’s choice to focus on Ketch may catch some fans by surprise, it would certainly not preclude Blaze from making his MCU debut. Indeed, making Ketch the lead of a Ghost Rider series almost certainly means that Blaze, who is Ketch’s brother, plays some role.

    Of course with Winderbaum continuing to trot out the company line that Marvel Television is developing more projects than it intended to produce, don’t start your Hell Cycle engines just yet on that Ketch-focused Ghost Rider series ever being more than an idea than a reality.

    Source: Collider

  • Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Assembeled Its New Avengers

    Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Assembeled Its New Avengers

    Throughout the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios churned out Avengers films every three years to mark the transition from one Phase to another…and that’s if you don’t count Captain America: Civil War–which featured more Avengers than either of the first two Avengers films–as an Avengers film! Over seven years from 2012 to 2019, fans were treated to The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (and Captain America: Civil War!), three of which are among the top 15 rated MCU films according to Rotten Tomatoes (four is you count Captain America: Civil War!) and all of which are top ten box office earners for Marvel Studios (except Captain America: Civil War, probably because they didn’t call it Avengers: Civil War). To recap, Avengers movies are well-made and make big money.

    Given the successful track record of Avengers films, it would seemingly stand to reason that as the studio moved into an all-new, all-different era of storytelling in the Multiverse Saga, it would stick to the pattern; however, three plus years and one Phase transition into the new saga, fans still haven’t seen the Avengers assemble on screen, not even in a quasi-Avengers film like, say…Captain America: Civil War. But according to a new report, that’s all about to change in 2025.

    According to a pair of online personalities regarded as insiders, Marvel Studios will roll out its team of New Avengers next summer in director Jake Schreier‘s Thunderbolts*.

    First reported by GWW to be in development in 2021, Thunderbolts* was confirmed by a trade report in June 2022 before being announced by Kevin Feige at SDCC ’22 as the final installment in Phase 5 of the MCU. During 2022’s D23 event in Anaheim, Feige revealed the film’s ensemble cast which features Julia Louis-Dreyfus returning as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and with Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, and Hannah John-Kamen also reprising their characters from previous projects. So even though they passed on tradition at the end of Phase 4, could Thunderbolts* actually be a quasi-Avengers film?

    The gist of the new report is that by film’s end, the collection of offbeat antiheroes who Val covertly collected to run top secret missions will be hailed as Avengers after accidentally being revealed to the public while saving the day. The report suggests that the reveal is tied to the asterisk that was added to the film’s original title, Thunderbolts, earlier this year. Should this be the case, it’s unlikely that all the characters involved in the film would end up as the MCU’s New Avengers. It’s rather more likely that John Walker, Yelena Belova, Ghost and Taskmaster form the core of the team, giving the group analogs for some of the original team of Avengers. Just how that will be received by the members of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes who are still shown to be in contact with one another during one of the stingers in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings remains to be seen.

    Marvel Studios Thunderbolts* is set to hit theaters on May 2, 2025.

  • ‘Agatha All Long’: Episode 1’s Murder Mystery Explained

    ‘Agatha All Long’: Episode 1’s Murder Mystery Explained

    Marvel Studios’ latest Disney Plus streaming series, Agatha All Along, came out of the gate strong in its two-episode debut. Picking up three years after the events of WandaVision, “Seekest Thou The Road” finds a still bewitched Agatha starring in an episode of a True Detective-esque murder mystery. The pilot episode sees a recently reinstated Detective Agnes O’Connor on the scene of an unsolved murder that has everything to do with who she was and who she will be again. While it might seem fairly straightforward, there’s no harm in breaking down exactly who the vic was and how the evidence ties Agatha All Along to other Marvel Studios’ projects.

    The Victim

    The opening moments of the first episode of Agatha All Along resembles the early episodes of WandaVision by putting the series lead in the middle of a decade-appropriate genre piece which, in this case, is a camped-up version of an episode of HBO’s True Detective. Starring the residents of Westview, the episode within the series revolves around the mysterious murder of an unknown victim. Still trapped inside the spell cast by Wanda Maximoff in the season finale of WandaVision, Agatha Harkness stars as Detective Agnes O’Connor who feels an immediate an inexplicable connection to the murder victim. As the episode unfolds, it becomes clear that the current-ish events of the real world have leaked into the distorted reality in which Agatha is trapped.

    Though Agnes is initially incapable of comprehending what’s occurred, the events of the third act of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are neatly dove-tailed into the Agatha All Along opener by series’ creator Jac Schaeffer. And so, the victim is indeed Wanda Maximoff, who died by her own hand while she destroyed the castle of Chthon at Mount Wundagore.

    The Evidence

    While it’s probably pretty clear early on to most folks that Wanda is the dead woman in the creek, Schaeffer planted an incredibly clever clue at the murder scene. Throughout Episode 1, Detective O’Connor digs into a library slip with multiple dates and zero names. That card leads to the Westview library which allows Agnes to dig up the title of a book that she discovers was stolen from the Natural Science section. Following up on the book’s original location, Agnes learns that every copy of the book, Dialogue and Rhetoric: Known History of Learning & Debate, written by Andrew Ugo, has been burned. As Agatha works out for herself, the title of the book has a one-to-one relationship to the Darkhold, the book of the damned that Wanda stole from Agatha before choosing to destroy every copy of it throughout the Multiverse. As for Ugo, the author’s name is simply a rescramble of Wundagore, the Eastern European mountain that served as the setting for the final act of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Tying the victim’s death back to that location explains the cause of death, the presence of foreign soil and why all the copies of the D.A.R.K.H.O.L.D. appear burned up in the library.

    Interestingly enough, the library card–which doubles as a toe tag for Wanda–may just serve as a list of the former owners of the Darkhold. As seen toward the end of the episode, Agatha Harkness’ name is on the card above Wanda’s which begs the question of who just might make up the rest of the list. While the pages of Marvel Comics provide a fairly straight lineage which includes Doctor Strange, Conan the Barbarian baddie Thulsa Doom, Morgan Le Fay, Werewolf By Night‘s Jack Russell’s ancestor Gregor Russoff and the book’s author, Chthon, the MCU’s own list of owners is yet to be defined and may well play a major part in the events of the remainder of the episodes of Agatha All Along.

  • ‘WandaVision’, ‘Agatha All Along’ Creator Finally Addresses the Solo ‘Scarlet Witch’ Movie

    ‘WandaVision’, ‘Agatha All Along’ Creator Finally Addresses the Solo ‘Scarlet Witch’ Movie

    Much like her comic book counterpart, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Scarlet Witch story arc has become controversial as it unfolded. Similar to what’s happened to the character in the pages of Marvel Comics, Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff has been villain and hero and villain again but her heel turn in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness left a bad taste in the mouths of many. Despite making a heroic sacrifice in the final act of the Strange sequel that seemed to seal her fate, rumors have swirled for the past couple of years that there was more in store for Wanda. Indeed, even Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, teased further adventures for the character down the road; however, as the studio enters the homestretch of the Multiverse Saga, there’s been no official word on what’s next for Wanda.

    There really is so much more to explore. We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash. I don’t know what that means.

    -Kevin Feige on the future of the Scarlet WItch in the MCU

    Part of the appeal of telling more stories about the character is, of course, the talented actress who brings her to life. Feige has described Olsen as “incredibly humble and incredibly down-to-earth” while adding that once the cameras roll, she becomes “a force of nature.” And so while things didn’t look great for Wanda as Mount Wundagore collapsed around her, Feige’s willingness to “work with Lizzie for another 100 years” means that, as he said, “anything’s possible in the multiverse!” and a recent report seems to indicate that one possibility might be starting to take shape amid the chaos.

    According to Production Weekly, WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer and The Marvels writer Megan McDonnell have begun work on a script for a solo Scarlet Witch film. Coincidentally, with that report still fresh in the minds of reporters, Schaeffer was on the purple carpet last night at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theater for Disney’s Agatha All Along launch event where she handled some questions about the potential project.

    LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 16: Jac Schaeffer attends the launch event for Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 16, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Marvel)

    As you’ve grown to expect, Schaeffer wasn’t revealing much when asked when she would start shooting the Scarlet Witch solo flick but she didn’t say it wasn’t happening, either. “I mean I’m just here hoping for a Scarlet Witch movie,” Schaeffer told Variety. We all want Wanda, so fingers crossed that’s a thing that happens.” When pressed further about whether or not she thought it would happen, Schaeffer replied, “I don’t know! I’m in witchy Agatha land right now and I can’t quite see through the trees, but we’re hoping.” And while none of that sounds to encouraging, Schaeffer’s final comment might provide a glimmer of hope that Wanda will be back to lead her own film. In response to Variety’s reporter commenting that Disney won’t let her talk to the press about it, Schaeffer slyly replied, “Not right now…” which coupled with her body language will likely be enough to give fans hope.

    While fans wait for official word on the Scarlet Witch project to come down to Witches’ Road, there are plenty of compelling reasons to think it is in the works. After having launched work on a second WandaVision spinoff, Vision Quest, Schaeffer recently left the project, turning it over to Star Trek: Picard Season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas, leaving Schaeffer with some freedom in her schedule. Additionally, Schaeffer’s rumored co-writer, Megan McDonnell, who worked with her as a producer on Agatha All Along and, at the moment, seems similarly free at the moment. And, of course, the biggest piece in the puzzle, star Elizabeth Olsen, has always maintained that she’d love to return to the role as long as there’s a “good story to tell.” Schaeffer’s track record would suggest she’ up for that task so while it’s best to refrain from being too excited at the moment, it’s also possible that a Scarlet Witch film is more possible now than it ever has been.

  • Further Details from Marvel’s Scrapped ‘Avengers’ Film Reveal It Was Set to Serve as a Surprise Sequel

    Further Details from Marvel’s Scrapped ‘Avengers’ Film Reveal It Was Set to Serve as a Surprise Sequel

    While MCU fans may never understand the full extent to which Bob Iger‘s return to Disney changed the charted course of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga, it seems more can be gleaned about it each week. When Marvel Studios used the Summer convention season to promote its 2025 slates of theatrical and streaming projects and made no mention of what 2026 and beyond would bring beyond what was already known, deductive reasoning led to some speculation that not even the Marvel Studios Parliament knew exactly what was next.

    In the weeks that have followed, it’s become increasingly clear that the studio’s plans are still in flux, though recent developments suggest that things are starting to come together behind the scenes. Shortly after rumors emerged that projects such as Armor Wars, Blade and a Shang-Chi sequel were in limbo, trade reports came in that revealed Destin Daniel Cretton was in talks to direct Spider-Man 4. Cretton taking on the latest installment in the Spidey franchise effectively pressed pause on the Shang-Chi sequel, a project that star Simu Liu recently confirmed was in development, promising that “it’s definitely happening.“

    I think just what Shaun decides to do with all this newfound power, you know? It kind of consumed his father, consumed Wenwu. I’m curious as to how someone much younger, much more inexperienced, would fare against the rings. Just this idea of all of a sudden being gifted something that’s so powerful but also so dangerous. And then the other big question I have is, you know, in what way does Shaun fit in with the rest of the MCU? Who are you going to see? What kind of crazy team-ups? What kinda tie-ins, Easter eggs? I’m just as much in the dark as everyone else, so I don’t know anything, but I’m excited to dive into that process.

    -Simu Liu on a potential Shang-Chi sequel

    While nobody doubts that Liu believes that a sequel to one of the studio’s most critically successful films in the Multiverse Saga will be made eventually, it’s starting to become clear that there’s a reason he also mentioned that he “really can’t say anything” further about the project. However, as it turns out, the Shang-Chi sequel may have actually been delayed far longer ago than any of us knew.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, the original plan for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was for it to have “essentially served” as a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While fans knee-jerk reaction may be to balk at the news, it does mesh with the recent report from Inverse that Shang-Chi was originally intended to have a major role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before the project was “retooled.”

    In the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would’ve been one of the film’s main leads. A lot’s changed since then; Avengers 5 was meant to focus on Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to introduce Victor Von Doom.

    -Inverse

    Given that Cretton was originally picked to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, it’s certainly not too difficult to believe that Shang-Chi was meant to be one of the film’s leads. Additionally, despite the nebulous nature of that film’s post-credit scene, it’s similarly easy to believe that it could have dovetailed into a confrontation with Kang in the fifth Avengers film. Unfortunately, Jonathan Majors‘ legal troubles and the uneven fan reception to Kang’s role in the Multiverse Saga led to Cretton leaving his post as director of The Kang Dynasty which means that while we may still get a great film in Avengers: Doomsday, we’ll likely never know exactly what was planned for Liu’s wonderful new MCU hero.

  • Marvel Studios Reveals Complete Episode Release Schedule for ‘Agatha All Along’

    Marvel Studios Reveals Complete Episode Release Schedule for ‘Agatha All Along’

    Marvel Studios’ Disney Plus streaming series have been rolling out two-episode premieres for quite some time and nothing will change about that when Agatha All Along premieres on September 18th. However, in order to make the Kathryn Hahn-led series the perfect spooky season treat, the studio is making one adjustment to the streaming series’ release schedule.

    In Marvel Studios’ Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…

    -Official synopsis for Agatha All Along

    Via social media, Marvel Studios revealed the full release schedule for the nine-episode series. In addition to the two-episode premiere, Agatha All Along will also roll out a two-episode series finale, with episodes eight and nine dropping on the night before Halloween!

    The nine-episode series was directed by a trio of talent with each responsible for three episodes. In addition to series creator Jac Schaeffer, episodes of Agatha All Along will be directed by Rachel Goldberg (Mayans M.C. and Gen V) and Gandja Monteiro (Wednesday, The Witcher and The Walking Dead: Dead City).

  • Fox ‘X-Men’ Star Confirms Conversations with Marvel Studios

    Fox ‘X-Men’ Star Confirms Conversations with Marvel Studios

    Even though the final film in Fox’s X-Men franchise was D.O.A. at theaters, it turns out there’s plenty of life left in those particular Children of the Atom. Kevin Feige and crew sprinkled a pair of Fox’s X-Men into a pair of projects before Deadpool & Wolverine, which was loaded with Fox (and non-Foz nostalgia) provided Marvel Studios with a much-needed boost this past summer. And even as the studio prepares to move ahead with its own X-Men film, rumors have begun to swirl that–at least for the time being–OG X-Man Hugh Jackman may well stay on as Wolverine.

    While it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the heavy nostalgia worked on both live-action and animation, via X-Men ’97, creating a palpable buzz around the mutants for the first time in years. Now, as the studio begins to lay out its approach to Avengers: Secret Wars, another actor who played a key role in Fox’s original X-Men trilogy has teased a future for his character in the MCU.

    In an interview with Comic Book, Kelsey Grammer, who played original X-Man Hank McCoy, aka Beast in the Fox films and then again in a post-credit cameo in The Marvels, shared that he has had “conversations” with Marvel Studios about continuing on in the role.

    “There’s nothing I can talk about,” Grammer told Comic Book. “What I do know is that there was a huge sort of outburst when I showed up at the end of The Marvels, I guess it was. The response was really almost… it wasn’t unexpected. There’d be some response, but it was pretty overwhelming, and so there are some conversations.” And given the way The Marvels came to an end, the possibility that the studio would return to the alternate universe inspired by Chris Claremont’s X-Men run shouldn’t surprise anyone.

    While there’s been no clear indication as to what to expect from Avengers: Secret Wars, the post-credit scene implied that Monica Rambeau ended up in a universe where not only was her mother a powerful superhero capable of wielding both Quantum Bands but also the X-Men were a well-established team. It wouldn’t be too surprising to find out other heroes exist there, too, and those heroes might end up playing a major role over what’s left in the Multiverse Saga.

    Source: Comicbook.com