Tag: MCU Rumors

Moon Knight Rumored Set to Return for a Trio of Upcoming Marvel Studios Projects

From the time the first trailer for Marvel Studios Moon Knight debuted to a whooping 75 million views in its first 24 hours online, it was clear that the ambitious Oscar Isaac-les streaming series was going to make a major splash. Indeed, when its six-episode run was finished, it was one of the studio’s most-watched series with its finale being its most-watched episode, bucking a trend most TV series battle. However, over two years later, none of Isacc’s characters have made their way back into a Marvel Studios project. Despite obvious interest from the creative team, Isaac and the fans, a second season doesn’t seem to be in the cards just yet.

Of course, the lack of movement on Season 2 of Moon Knight doesn’t mean Isaac won’t suit back up. Director Destin Daniel Cretton‘s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was rumored to feature the character, along with Hulk, She-Hulk and Shang-Chi as members of a team of New Avengers that set out to take on the titular villain; however, with Marvel going back to the drawing board for Avengers 5, Moon Knight’s future remains uncertain…or does it?

According to a new tidbit shared by frequent social media rumor monger My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel Studios may have outlined Moon Knight’s next steps in the Multiverse Saga. Should the information prove accurate, Isaac will find himself a busy man over the next few years as the rumor has him potentially suiting back up for both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Additionally, MTTSH reports that Moon Knight is also expected to be a part of the team of heroes who assemble to tackle supernatural threats in Midnight Sons, a film which has not yet been confirmed to be in development by the studio but around which quite a bit of talk has buzz has been generated over the last year.

Both Avengers films are expected to sport massive character rosters and Isaac is among the biggest stars in Marvel Studios’ impressive stable, so one or both of the films does feel like a safe place to see the return of not only Moon Knight but other Multiverse Saga heroes who have been hiatus such as She-Hulk and Shang-Chi. In the case of Midnight Sons, Loonie Moonie’s inclusion on the team is all but a sure thing…if the project ever makes its way to theaters.

November 29, 2024
Marvel Studios Reportedly Considering Canceling Two Major Projects

After a nearly decade-long run as the undisputed champion of pop culture, Marvel Studios has faced its fair share of adversity over the past several years. The return of Bob Iger following a string of films that weren’t quite up to the studio’s own lofty standards and a streaming project that could just have easily stayed in the idea stage led to some big changes behind the scenes. After taking some time to reflect on what went wrong, the studio adopted a new way of doing business behind the scenes and rolled out some flashy rebranding in public in hopes of recapturing the magic that made the brand.

One change clearly stated by Iger was that the studio would no longer seek to push out 4 movies and 4 streaming projects each year. With so many projects already known to be in various stages of development at the time of Iger’s mandate, it seemed a certainty that some projects would be pushed well down the road while others might never made at all. According to a new report, two projects that have been in development for several years are on the chopping block.

According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios is currently considering the fates of both Armor Wars and Blade with a decision on the future of both projects expected by the end of the year.

Armor Wars

Originally announced as a streaming series during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation, Armor Wars became a theatrical project in 2022. Marvel Studios’ Parliament member Nate Moore explained that the decision to shift gears to a movie was due in part to “some great ideas that were coming out for that show but that, to be quite honest, felt too big for that show.” Big ideas mean a big budget and, as Moore explained, it became more realistic to develop Armor Wars as a feature film.

Our Disney+ shows are awesome and we love them, but the budgets are not the same as the features, that’s not secret. And when you’re talking about a show that wants to be about seeing all the cool armors, and Don Cheadle interacting with all these armors, and the legacy of Tony Stark, that became cost-prohibitive to do as a show.
-Nate Moore on Armor Wars

At that time, the story of Armor Wars was also explained to be very connected both to what came before (which turned out to be Secret Invasion) and what was coming next.

And we realized as a feature, not only can we get into some of the beautiful imagery that is from publishing and there’s certainly an Armor Wars run, but also there’s ways then to leverage the ideas of that movie that affect other movies down the line. So it becomes a multiplication really of, once you figure out what is cool about something…
-Nate Moore on Armor Wars

However, with Secret Invasion being an abysmal failure and the entire back half of the Multiverse Saga being rethought following the poor reception to the concept and the firing of Jonathan Majors, Armor Wars has gone from a necessary bridge to potential collateral damage.

Blade

Easily the biggest surprise of SDCC ’19, the studio’s Mahershala Ali-led Blade film has gone through well-documented turmoil and seems no closer to being made now than it was five years ago. Despite Disney still holding a November 7, 2025 date aside for the film, Blade is currently without a director and has already gone through at least six different writers.

Director Yann Demange‘s decision to leave the project was the end result of a tumultuous six months full of upheval and uncertainty. As recently as January 2024, Demange expressed excitement over the project and explained why being given the green light to make an R-rated film was so crucial to the project.

They gave me the R, which is so important. We are going to have fun because Mahershala is such a deep actor.” “I’m excited to show a kind of ruthlessness, a roughness he has, that allows him to walk the earth in a particular way. I love him for that. He’s got a dignity and integrity, but there is a ferocity there that he usually keeps under the surface. I want to unleash that and put it on the screen.
-Yann Demange on the R-rating of Blade

At this point, it seems more likely that Blade–whose voice was heard in a post-credit scene to Eternals–may appear in the rumored Midnight Sons film before a solo Blade project gets off the ground.

September 5, 2024
Marvel Studios Reportedly Considering a Second Season for One of Its Strangest Streaming Series

Once upon a time, Marvel Studios had grand plans to expand the MCU by exploring some of its more obscure corners and characters through streaming series on Disney Plus. As recently as 2022, the studio hoped to push out 3 or 4 live-action streaming series each year in addition to animated content, providing nearly non-stop Marvel to its fans. That all changed with the return of Bob Iger to the Disney throne and now development has slowed to what Marvel’s head of streaming, television and animation, Brad Winderbaum called “a more considered approach” that involved significant rebranding.

That more considered approach, according to Winderbaum, will see the studio pare down its streaming slate to two series each year while continuing to develop an unquantified number of projects. In Winderbaum’s words, the studio will be “developing more than we make.” And those words are incredibly relevant to some interesting news about a potential second season to one of Marvel’s strangest and most well-reviewed streaming series.

I really like the idea of two shows a year, especially because we are developing more than we make. We used to treat the shows like the features where we’re gonna make a show and that’s it, we’re going to hit a release date, hell or high water. Well, it’s hard to do for a two hour feature, it’s even harder to do for, six, seven, eight, nine hours. So now we have a more traditional approach.
-Brad Winderbaum on Marvel Studios’ new apporach to developing streaming projects

According to trusted MCU insider Daniel RPK, Winderbaum and the fine folks behind the D+ streaming series are developing a second season of Moon Knight.

In 2022, Moon Knight introduced Oscar Isaac‘s multi-personalitied Marc Spector to the MCU and proved to be a rare case of a streaming series gaining viewers over time. As the series concluded, there were signs and speculation that a second season might be in the works though nobody, including Isaac and director Mohamed Diab, knew of any plans on Disney’s part to continue the story of Moon Knight. “I’m kept in the dark, just like the fans…Marvel doesn’t go with a conventional way, so even if they like the character and want to extend the world, it could be Season 2, it could be a standalone film, or he can join another superhero’s journey,” said Diab in 2022. “We never discussed it being a Season 2, but one day there’s going to be an expansion, but I don’t know how it’s going to look like.“

And let’s just put everything out on the table on this story. There’s definitely no official plans to continue it. I think it would depend on what the story is. That being said, I love being Steven. I just love it. It’s just like, physically, it’s so much fun to be him. So, you know, if there was a story that really made sense, I’d be happy to be part of it.
–Oscar Isaac on the potential of a second season of Moon Knight, May, 2022

Season 1 of Moon Knight was a hit with critics (86% at Rotten Tomatoes) and introduced a whole new brand of weirdness into the MCU. Complete with a talking hippo goddess and twists and turns that left fans wondering what was real and what was not, Moon Knight also provided a wonderful exploration of the fractured psyche of Spector, whose dissociative identity disorder created several interesting personalities who manifested themselves throughout the series and even into its post-credit scene.

Despite the lack of concrete plans for the future of the character, Isaac promised fans that the character had a future, saying “This isn’t the last we’ve heard of the system that is Moon Knight,” during an appearance at NYCC ’22. As time has passed and moved further and further away from the series’ release, news and even rumors about a second season of Moon Knight have slowly ground to a halt. While at this point another season of the series would seem unlikely to make its way to Disney Plus before 2027, should it make it through development, it’s good to know there’s hope for more of the wonderful weirdness that made the first season of Moon Knight such a fun ride.

August 23, 2024
Marvel Studios Big Horror Crossover Project Gets an Encouraging Update

In 2022, Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation Werewolf By Night was an unmitigated success. Michael Giacchino‘s 53-minute black-and-white feature paid homage to Universal’s classic horror films and opened the door for monsters to make their way into the MCU. However, nearly two years later, the studio has yet to follow up on that premise despite having a hotly anticipated film in the genre, Blade, in the works since 2019. Beset by a worrying inability to put together a script good enough to get the project up and running, a change in directors and the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike, Blade has been delayed again and again, though it sounds like production will finally kick off later this year.

Despite the delays to Blade, rumors have persisted for some time that the studios was already developing a follow-up project, Midnight Sons, that would see the Daywalker team up with the cast of characters from Werewolf By Night, Moon Knight and, possibly, Ghost Rider to take a major supernatural threat. While it was originally rumored that Marvel Studios was hoping to reteam with Giacchino on the project, other names, such as Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez, have also been tossed into the mix. Despite all the rumors, however, the project has yet to be mentioned by either the studio or a trade and until that happens, it’s best to let rumors be rumors no matter how interesting they may be. On that note, a new rumor about the project has popped up that, if true, could suggest Midnight Sons is on the fast track to the big screen.

According to Nexus Point News, Logan and Blade Runner 2049 scribe Michael Green—who took over writing duties on Blade in 2023–has agreed to write the screenplay for Midnight Sons.

Green’s impressive resume includes quite a few superhero properties in addition to Blade and Logan. Though he has the misfortune of having 2011’s Green Lantern on his filmography, he also worked on Smallville and Heroes in addition to writing for DC Comics. While we wait for anything official about Midnight Sons to come down from the studio (that COULD happen this summer during the convention circuit) we’ll continue to monitor the more interesting rumors about the project.

Source: Nexus Point News

June 12, 2024
‘Nova’: Marvel Studios Finally Charts a Course for the Human Rocket

It’s been over half a decade since Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, called Marvel’s greatest cosmic hero, Nova, a character that had “immediate potential” to show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Immediacy is relative, apparently. Despite Marvel Studios giving a Disney Plus Nova series the green light in March 2022, the project–written by Moon Knight scribe Sabir Pirzada—was rumored to be headed to the big screen before being unceremoniously shoved to the back burner as other projects took precedence. Now it seems the studio has made a decision about how to best introduce the Human Rocket.

According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Television will indeed be handling Nova’s introduction with production on the Disney Plus streaming series is slated to begin in 2025.

While it’s clear Marvel Studios has charted a course that will bring the Human Rocket to the MCU, it’s still not entirely clear which iteration of the character (Richard Rider or Sam Alexander) fans will meet. While RPK’s report indicates the studio will be searching for a young lead, both Rider and Alexander were teens when they donned the helmet and became Nova. Though younger fans may be more familiar with Alexander, Rider is arguably one of the greatest heroes in the history of Marvel Comics. In skipping over Rider to get to Alexander, Marvel Studios runs the risk of repeating the mistake of foregoing the stories of an OG hero to tell the stories of a more modern one.

If the studio has begun the search for its leading man, it’s likely that the series will head into production by the first half of 2025. If that’s the case, it would likely partner with Vision Quest (and possibly a second season of Daredevil: Born Again) as Marvel Television’s 2026 streaming offerings.

May 15, 2024
Two More Names Emerge as Potential Scribes for Marvel Studios’ ‘X-Men’

Recent rumors have pointed to Marvel Studios bumping their X-Men reboot to the front of the line with an eye on rolling it out as part of the Multiverse Saga. With each passing day, it looks as though there may just be some merit to that as more rumblings surface about the studio’s search for a creative team for the project. It’s not always easy to separate facts from bullshit but it does seem clear that the studio is indeed narrowing down the pool of potential writers for the film. Now, a new report provides a pair of surprising names that might be in the mix as well as a potential timeline.

According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Rafe Judkins and Michael Lesslie are among the names on Marvel Studios’ shortlist to write the screenplay for their X-Men reboot. Sneider also believes that the studio could settle on a scribe for the project by the end of the month.

Judkins, who wrote 5 episodes of the ABC melodrama Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Tom Holland-led Uncharted, has most recently served as the showrunner for Amazon’s Wheel of Time adaptation. Lesslie recently wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and, in 2016, the screenplay for Assassin’s Creed.

Sneider has made no claims about the studio favoring one or the other of the two and it’s important to remember that there’s no indication of how many other writers are on the shortlist. Ryan Coogler, whose name was recently floated as a potential director for the X-Men project, would likely also prefer to write the screenplay for the project were he to in fact be hired to helm it. With a project as big as X-Men, you can be sure the trades are doing everything they can to find out as much as possible about it so if Sneider’s report has merit to it and the studio is closing in on a writer, a trade breaking the news would be expected.

May 10, 2024
Wild New Rumor Has The Rock Joining the MCU as a Major X-Men Villain

Dwayne Johnson‘s first efforts as a superhero certainly didn’t work out as the star hoped. Black Adam was a critical and commercial miss and with an all-new DC Studios emerging as the film was in theaters, there was no future for the character or for Johnson. Now amidst his return to professional wrestling as a full-blown WWE heel, a new rumor has him joining the MCU as one of the X-Men’s deadliest villains.

According to one of the online community’s most active leakers, My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel Studios is interested in casting Dwayne Johnson as En Sabah Nur, better known as Apocalypse.

The character–played by Oscar Isaac–was the antagonist of Fox’s 2016 debacle X-Men: Apocalypse and has been one of the X-Men’s most formidable foes over the years in the comics. Writer Jonathan Hickman recently made some significant changes to the character’s history which not only made him more interesting but also provided a path forward in the MCU without retreading too much ground covered in the horrific Fox film.

Given he’s one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, there’s a pretty good chance that Marvel Studios would like to work with Johnson at some point, casting the star as Apocalypse seems like a terrible idea at best. Outside of the sheer horror that could come from The Rock revisiting ancient Egypt and reminding audiences of The Scorpion King, there’s also the matter of Johnson’s staunch refusal to play villains. Perhaps his heel turn in the WWE represents some movement on this front but that remains to be seen.

Who is Apocalypse?

Marvel Comics’ Apocalypse, also known as En Sabah Nur, stands as one of the most formidable and iconic villains in the X-Men universe. With his ancient origins and insatiable thirst for power, Apocalypse is a force to be reckoned with.

Born thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, Apocalypse is an immortal mutant with godlike powers and an indomitable will. Possessing advanced technology and genetic manipulation abilities, he is revered as the world’s first mutant, wielding immense strength and intelligence.

Apocalypse’s primary goal is the survival of the fittest, believing in the principle of mutant superiority through strength. Throughout history, he has sought to cull weaker mutants and shape the world in his image, often unleashing chaos and destruction in his wake. From assembling his Four Horsemen to manipulating global events, Apocalypse stops at nothing to achieve his vision of mutant domination.

Encounters with the X-Men

The X-Men, led by stalwart heroes like Cyclops and Wolverine, have repeatedly clashed with Apocalypse in epic battles of will and power. His encounters with the X-Men often result in cataclysmic showdowns, testing the limits of their strength and resolve. Apocalypse sees the X-Men as both worthy adversaries and obstacles to his grand design, making their conflicts legendary in the annals of Marvel Comics.

Apocalypse’s legacy extends beyond mere villainy, influencing the course of mutantkind and leaving a lasting mark on the Marvel Universe. His actions have shaped the destinies of countless mutants, leaving behind a trail of destruction and despair. Despite facing defeat on numerous occasions, Apocalypse’s influence looms large, a reminder of the ever-present threat posed by those who seek absolute power.

In the realm of Marvel Comics, Apocalypse stands as a testament to the enduring allure of villainy and the eternal struggle between good and evil. With his ancient origins, godlike powers, and relentless pursuit of dominance, he remains a dark and ominous figure, casting a long shadow over the world of the X-Men.

May 8, 2024
Fede Álvarez Rumored to Be a Candidate to Direct a Major MCU Team-Up Film

Deadpool & Wolverine will be Marvel Studios’ first R-rated project when it hits theaters this July but it certainly won’t be it’s last. Even though horror films can do just fine as PG-13 projects, Mahershala Ali‘s long-gestating Blade project has already been deemed an R-rated film. That film, which is currently slated to hit theaters in 2026, has already been rumored to set up another, major team-up flick and a new rumor indicates that Marvel Studios may already be eyeing some candidates to helm it.

According to social media scooper My Time to Shine Hello, Marvel Studios may be interested in working with Fede Álvarez on the rumored Midnight Sons project.

While theres never been any official word or even so much as a tease from Marvel about a Midnight Sons project being in the works, it’s been a hotly rumored project for some time. Recently, Michael Giachhano, who helmed Werewolf By Night for the studio, was rumored to be attached. Having just worked with Disney on Alien: Romulus, which is exoected to be a big hit for the studio, Álvarez is at the very least a logical guess to be on a list of potential directors should the project ever move forward.

Should the studio truly be interested in Álvarez, it would almost certainly indicate at least a willingness to consider crafting Midnight Sons as another R-rated project. Álvarez has exclusively worked in R-rated or TV-MA content as a director and the type of stories that the supernatural team-up film might draw from almost all certainly could lend themselves to a more mature adaptation.

May 5, 2024
‘Avengers 5’ Rumor May Reveal the New Lineup of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

Rumors about Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars have been coming pretty steadily as of late. A recent rumor suggested that the studio had made some real progress on Avengers 5 and had begun reaching out to talent about scheduling. That same rumor also suggested that some major heroes, like the Fantastic Four, were left out of Michael Waldron‘s new script. On the heels of that, another MCU leaker has claimed to know the makeup of the new team of Avengers and it’s safe to say it’s not quite the one most fans imagined.

According to My Time to Shine Hello, the new iteration of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will only be comprised of five heroes and some of the choices may come as a surprise.

No, it’s not QUITE the lineup we predicted in January 2023 (as seen above) but it’s not off by much. According to MTTSH, the new squad will feature Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, She-Hulk and Moon Knight! That’s quite an eclectic bunch and not one that too many had in its entirety on their bingo cards. However, since four of the five were on our “dream team”, we’ll give it an A for effort.

At this point, there’s been no indication of just how much or how little Kang the Conqueror will factor into the film formerly known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, the composition of the rumored team–which features battle-tested vets and a pair of wild cards–could do a fine job defending Earth, even from the Master of Men, should Waldron’s script have kept a variant of Nathaniel Richards in play.

Avengers 5 is reportedly heading into production early in 2025 with an eye on keeping its May 1 2026 release date.

April 29, 2024
RUMOR: An Original Avenger Has Agreed to Return for ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

Marvel Studios spent quite a bit of 2023 working behind the scenes to find a way to right the ship. After rarely if ever missing during in the back end of the Infinity Saga, the front end of the Infinity Saga was incredibly uneven at best. The results of that time spent are, so far, encouraging and with more than a few upcoming projects already drumming up positive buzz (Deadpool & Wolverine, Agatha and Daredevil: Born Again among them), there’s hope that the 3-4 years will be a return to glory.

Bob Iger’s return to Disney came with a mandate that large studios, like Marvel, dial back on the number of projects in development and focus more on pumping out sure things. To that end, Iger also indicated that studios would be revisiting franchises and characters that fans know and love. In Marvel’s case, many of those familiar characters seemed to have had their last dance in Avengers: Endgame but as word comes down that the studio is prepping for production on Avengers 5, one of the original Avengers has reportedly officially agreed to return for Avengers 6.

According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH, Chris Evans will return in Avengers: Secret Wars.

This isn’t the first time word of Evans‘ return as America’s Ass has made news, of course. In January 2021, Deadline reported that the star was closing in in a deal that would see him return for an unnamed Marvel Studios project with an option for a second, which would be a film. This Fall, Evans addressed the idea of returning to the MCU, saying that if he were to do it, it would be “no time soon.“

“I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon. And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests.”
Chris Evans on returning to the role of Captain America

If Evans did have some projects in mind back in 2021, the impact of COVID delays plus the strikes of 2023 could have pushed those projects back several years. If so, Evans could have been telling the whole truth in the recent interview while still knowing he had something coming up down the road. Should Evans indeed return for another MCU adventure or two, it would likely be 7 or 8 years post-Endgame. Steve Rogers would certainly be a welcome sight.

April 28, 2024