It seemed…inevitable. Just hours after THR broke the news that directors Joe and Anthony Russo were in talks to return to Marvel Studios to helm Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars, rumors began to swirl that another pair of key contributors to the Infinity Saga may join them. According to multiple outlets, the Russos may be accompanied in their new venture by another creative tag team well-known to MCU fans: writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
According to both Daniel RPK and Jeff “The In” Sneider, Markus and McFeely–who teamed up to write the screenplays for a half dozen MCU films in Phases 1 through 3–are set to pen Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars. Interestingly enough, word of the duo’s return comes on the heels of unconfirmed reports that writer Michael Waldron had left Avengers 5.
While the Russos faces may have been more familiar to fans of the MCU, Markus and McFeely were every bit as much involved in the scaffolding of the Infinity Saga as the directing duo. In addition to writing the screenplays for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Markus and McFeely also penned Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War.
There are all sorts of characters that would be fun. Joe and Anthony keep saying Secret Wars and I keep going, “really, you want to take on another giant multi-character [crossover]?” I would personally be more drawn to setting up a single character again and taking them from the beginning.
While the Russos often shared their desire to adapt Marvel Comics Secret Wars for the MCU, Markus and McFeeley were less keen on the idea in a 2019 interview, suggesting they’d rather work with X-Men characters, with Cyclops at the top of their list. Should they start from scratch on Avengers 5, an adaptation of Marvel Comics 2012 crossover event, Avengers vs. X-Men, could scratch that particular itch and fit nicely into the ongoing Multiverse Saga plot, especially given where things left off in The Marvels.
With the creative team for the next Avengers films now seemingly complete (again), it’s reasonable to assume Marvel Studios will include the projects in their Hall H panel at SDCC ’24 on Saturday, July 27th.
Since Shira Haas was first revealed to be playing Ruth Bat-Seraph in Captain America: Brave New World, the character has been the center of online controversy, including calls for her to be removed from the film. In 2022, Marvel Studios made it clear that rather than remove her from the film, they took a “new approach” in reimagining her for the MCU. Now, shortly after the first look at the film hit social media, that new approach is becoming very clear.
While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics. They are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.
-Official Statement from Marvel Studios on Ruth Bat-Seraph in Captain America: Brave New World
Haas‘ brief appearance in the teaser trailer for the film didn’t give much away about what changes may have been made to the character, however, a follow-up piece on Marvel.com shed some light on what to expect. Rather than appearing in the MCU as a member of the Israeli Secret Service, Ruth is described as “a former Black Widow,” who “is now a high-ranking U.S. government official who has the trust of President Ross.” Given how Black Widow played out, the change works just fine but according to a new trade report, the changes don’t stop there.
In the comics, Ruth Bat-Seraph also went by the alias Sabra; however, according to THR, the studio chose to drop that code name entirely as well as her allegiance to Israel. Essentially, Marvel Studios’ new approach to the character was to keep the name and recreate her entirely–and it’s hardly the first time they’ve done such a thing. Though it’s unlikely that the changes made by the studio will relieve any of the tension online, it does show at least some semblance of awareness by the execs while also calling into question why the chose to use the character in the first place when an original character would have worked well in her place.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters February 14, 2025.
Marvel Studios rolled out the first look at 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World which looks to be a high-octane thriller. While the teaser trailer gave away quite a bit, including the inclusion of Red Hulk, it held back quite a bit as well, including leaving out some key cast members. One of those members of the cast, Shira Haas, is set to play Ruth Bat-Seraph, known in the comics as Sabra, who has become the center of some controversy. Fans have threatened to boycott the film over her inclusion and some rumors arose that the character would be taken out of the film entirely. As it turns out, that is not the case as Haas was included on the list of cast members sent out by Disney in an official press release.
“Captain America: Brave New World” stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. The film is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
Despite backlash from fans, Haas‘ character was never going to be removed from the film. In 2022, the studio released a statement indicating that they were “taking a new approach” with the character.
While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics. They are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago
With only a brief hint of the character in the teaser, fans will have to wait to see what that new approach is and how they incorporate her into the MCU despite the controversy that has surrounded her since she was first revealed to be in the film.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
Following the release of the teaser trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, Disney unveiled the first official synopsis for the action-packed 2025 film. The film has been described as a political thriller in the past and the synopsis indicates fans should expect just that.
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
Official Synopsis for Captain America: Brave New World
Though he’s only briefly seen in the teaser, that “true mastermind” is certainly Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns who is returning to the role for the first time since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Brave New World director Julius Onah teased Sterns’ role in the film in an interview with ComicBook.com in 2022.
One of the things that really drew me to this project is The Leader is a man who operates from intellect. And it’s so great to have an adversary who is working with this incredible intellect to really put Sam through the wringer in this story. And again, it’s a paranoid thriller; it’s this grounded adventure where I think everything that happens in this film feels so real and intense because of who this adversary is. What he’s going to have to go through in this film is because he’s got an adversary who is so terrifyingly intelligent.
-Jullius Onah
The teaser trailer lays out how Sam Wilson moves ahead following the events of the Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Solider as President Thaddeus Ross looks to make Captain America an official position within the United States military. Onah previously talked about the challenges Wilson would face in that role saying, “He is in a new position. Stepping up to be the leader as Captain America is going to be a new set of challenges for him. And in this story, a big part of his journey is how do you define that leadership? That’s the thing that he hasn’t had to deal with just yet. As the Falcon, he was always there supporting the rest of the team, but now he’s the man leading the team and I think that’s going to be a really exciting journey to go on with him.”
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14th, 2025.
Marvel Studios’ most recent foray into animation, X-Men ’97, checked all the boxes. From beginning to end, the revival captivated the audience with shockingly high stakes and ended on such a high note that fans were clamoring for news about Season 2. The good news is that the sophomore season of X-Men ’97 is already deep into its production and could hit D+ as early as 2025; however, with showrunner Beau DeMayo being let go by Marvel Studios despite having a long-term plan for the series, the question of who would take the reigns of the successful series continued to hang overhead. Now, that problem has been resolved.
According to Deadline, Matthew Chauncey has agreed to join the creative team of the animated series as the head writer for Season 3 of X-Men ’97.
Chauncey is an in-house hire for the studio, having worked both in live-action on Ms. Marvel and in animation on Seasons 1 and 2 of What If…? and the upcoming Eyes of Wakanda. With Season 2 of X-Men ’97 currently in production, Chauncey will have plenty of time to get to work on drafting Season 3 which should allow for him to find his groove with the characters and the pre-existing stories and churn out some banger episodes. While he has writing credits for more than a half-dozen episodes of What If…?, he was the sole writer for Season 2, Episode 7, “What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?”, which was one of the season’s most fascinating installments.
Marvel Studios rolled out the first look at its next Disney Plus streaming series, Agatha All Along and, as usual, sent some extra goodies out as well. In addition to some promo photos and a great looking poster, the studio also provided an official synopsis for the series.
In “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…
The goth Teen mentioned is, of course, Joe Locke’s Nicholas Scratch Billy Kaplan and the Witches’ Road is sure to be drought with peril!
Agatha All Along premieres September 18th on Disney Plus.
It’s an all-new, all-different era at Marvel Studios. After years of being obnoxiously secretive, the studio has experimented with different methods of revealing news about upcoming projects. Whether the constant changing of titles of KathrynHahn’s Agatha All Along, the social media reveal of Hugh Jackman‘s return for Deadpool & Wolverine or the surprise Valentine’s Day cast announcement, or the April 4th reveal of concept art featuring the Human Torch which also launched an neat viral campaign for The Fantastic Four, the once taciturn studio has taken a new, more forthcoming approach to connect with fans as they try to rebuild their image.
Another new initiative taken by the studio to reach the fanbase is the launch of The Official Marvel Podcast. Perhaps in an effort to put the podcast on the map, Marvel came out swinging with its first episode by having Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, launch the venture. And while the boss had quite a bit to say about the studio’s upcoming slate, he was most effusive about the long-awaited film, The Fantastic Four.
The co-host of the podcast came out swinging by asking Feige which upcoming project excited him most and after giving a typical Big Kev response, the head honcho changed gears and gave some surprising insight into The Fantastic Four.
“Well, you know, the corporate answer is: they’re all our babies and we love them all equally. And I’m very excited for Deadpool & Wolverine, and then Agatha All Along, and Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts with an asterisk, and the new Daredevil. And that’s true,” started Feige. “But if you want the real answer – if we’re trying to get real on this podcast,” he continued, “the answer is The Fantastic Four.“
Collaborating with Jon on the Spider-Man films has been a true pleasure. We were looking forward to continuing our work with him to bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU but understand and are supportive of his reasons for stepping away. We are optimistic that we will have the opportunity to work together again at some point down the road.
-Kevin Feige on Jon Watts departure from The Fantastic Four, April 2022
“Matt Shakman, our Director who did WandaVision for us, is working on [The Fantastic Four]. He’s already moved to London, and we start filming at the end of July,” revealed Feige. “Funny story: we start shooting the Monday after Comic Con. The day after Comic Con is the first day of filming on Fantastic Four,” he added, perhaps teasing the studio’s presence in San Diego. Feige then expressed his excitement for the 2025 film.
“And I’m extremely excited by it, because I think those characters are mainstays… are legendary pillars of the Marvel Universe that we’ve never got to play with or explore in any significant way – apart from Multiverse Of Madness and a few fun teases – before, in the way that were doing in that film. So I’m extremely for that.”
-Kevin Feige, June 26 , 2024
While that amount of information alone from Feige would have been enough, Marvel’s Big Cheese took things one step further. When pressed by the co-host, Feige addressed fan speculation over the setting of The Fantastic Four, which fans believe will be a period piece–something which Feige directly confirmed before addressing another bit of speculation about the retrofuturistic setting of the film.
“Yes. Yes, very much so. It is a period, and there was another piece of art we released with Johnny Storm flying in the air making a 4 symbol, and there was a cityscape in the corner of that image, and there were a lot of smart people who noticed that cityscape didn’t look exactly like the New York that we know and the New York that existed in the ’60s in our world. And those are smart observations, I’ll say.”
After years of being fancast in multiple MCU roles, Giancarlo Esposito finally joined the cinema’s largest interconnected universe. It’s been just under a month since it was revealed that Espositio‘s character was set to debut in Captain America: Brave New World when it hits theaters in early 2025 and as reshoots on that project have wound down or moved out of the public eye, the buzz around the debut has died down a bit. However, at the premiere of his next film, MaXXXine, Esposito was asked about the role and teased that he’s set to be a real badass.
Giancarlo Esposito on his character and making his MCU debut in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ : “I’m a real badass” pic.twitter.com/Jx4HkEIRfp
“When you see me in the MCU, you’re going to see a badass and I’m excited for that,” Esposito told Deadline. “Acting is using every part of your body, your emotions, your senses, your feelings to portray something. But when you…you haven’t really seen me use my body in a way I’ll be using it. The MCU is exciting. I can’t tell you who I play but you’re gonna be excited when you see it,” he teased.
The MCU has knocked on my door and it’s a role you won’t predict. It will be teased and there will be a series afterwards.
While Esposito has done plenty of teasing of his character over the past couple of months, the identity of the agent of chaos has yet to be revealed. A set photo released online in early June showed the character will be heavily armed and led to wild theorizing and speculation by fans who believe he’s playing every Marvel character from Bushman to Willis Stryker to Shatterstar. To date, I’ve not seen an accurate guess of Esposito‘s character.
As the final countdown for Marvel Studios one and only theatrical release of 2024 begins, preparations for the studio’s next Avengers movie continue. Word recently came down that Kevin Feige and crew have begun the search for a director and thatDeadpool & Wolverine‘s Shawn Levy may be in contention for the job. Typically Marvel prefers to begin working with directors a year or so before the start of production which would indicate that filming should be on track to get underway in mid-2025. And it turns out that may just be the case, according to one of the film’s expected stars.
While reflecting on his time as Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch indicated that he’s expecting to suit back up for production on Avengers 5 next year.
Benedict Cumberbatch talks about the joy and perks of playing Doctor Strange (Doctor Sparks) 💫 "He's a gift in my life in many ways as a producer, as an actor. I'm very much looking forward to Avengers which is cooking up a storm." pic.twitter.com/3YOtUYrlkd
— thelostsmiles ꫂ Phil Burbank's scarf (@SmilingBenedict) June 21, 2024
Originally known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Avengers 5 remains on track for its May 2026 release despite a complete overhaul behind the scenes which included a new writer and director and, reportedly, a new main character.
As the director of Marvel Studios’ one and only theatrical offering of 2024, ShawnLevy has been and will continue to be in the spotlight throughout the summer. Not only was he charged with bringing the Merc with a Mouth into the MCU and crafting the studio’s first R-rated project but also with the tall task of getting the MCU back to the heights it so frequently visited before a rough 2023.
With just more than a month until it hits theaters, all signs point to Deadpool & Wolverine being a massive financial success for Marvel and with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman teaming up and bringing their incredible chemistry to the he project, it’s hard to imagine it won’t be a hit with fans as well. As the film continues to gather momentum, Levy has found himself rumored to be in the mix to direct Avengers 5and fans are already clamoring for news on Deadpool 4. As promotion for Deadpool & Wolverine kicks off, Deadline asked Levy about the potential for him to return to helm another Deadpool film.
“Usually I have to lie,” said Levy. “I’m waiting for the questions when I have to lie and pretend I don’t know the answer, but this one I can sincerely say I don’t know.” With Marvel Studios continuing to reassess the future of their theatrical slate, it’s not too hard to imagine Levy is telling the truth. However, it sounds as though while putting Deadpool & Wolverine together was a tough task, the director would be up for more.
Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date—”Deadpool & Wolverine.” A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. When his homeworld faces an existenal threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctantlier… reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a reluctant Wolverine to—Fuck. Synopses are so fucking stupid.
-Official synopsis, Deadpool & Wolverine
“But I can, in the same breath, say, ‘Man, this thing has been the hardest, most all-consuming thing I’ve ever done’, said Levy. “But it’s also been the most creatively gratifying. Because with Deadpool, there’s no rules. It is, in its very DNA, built on tonal audacity. So, for a filmmaker, what a delight,” he explained before adding that working with two long-time friends helped make working on the project “a blast.”
“And to do it with my best friend Ryan, my other buddy Hugh, the three of us who have known each other now for a very long time, it was just a blast,” Levy concluded. All in all, it doesn’t sound like the studio would have to twist Levy’s arm to return and given the referenve he’s shown for the source material, that may be something worth keeping an eye on.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
This website uses cookies
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
