Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: MCU

  • ‘Spider-Man 4’ Casting Rumor May Indicate Marvel Is Searching for a New Love Interest for Peter Parker

    ‘Spider-Man 4’ Casting Rumor May Indicate Marvel Is Searching for a New Love Interest for Peter Parker

    As was the case with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios and Sony’s next Spidey collab has been subject to an absurd amount of rumors and speculation ahead of its expected Summer 2025 start of production. With so many wild and wide-ranging reports making the rounds, it has become incredibly difficult to make sense out of what to actually expect from the film when it hits theaters in 2026. However, assuming the studios intended to follow the path upon which they set their hero at the end of No Way Home, some possibilities do make more sense than others.

    One of the more realistic routes the film might take would be to follow Peter Parker’s new life in which his old friends no longer remember him and he transitions to a more traditional Spider-Man. It’s reasonable to assume that might include Parker enrolling in college, perhaps at Empire State University, where, in the comics, he met a whole new group of characters who played major roles in his life including Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. And now a new report from a trusted insider has people beginning to believe that the latter may be headed to the MCU in Spider-Man 4.

    According to Daniel Richtman, Marvel is considering Furiosa: A Mad Max and The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy for an unknown role in Spider-Man 4.

    While some corners of social media are flocking toward speculation that the actress may be in the running for the role of Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, another intriguing possibility has also generated some by buzz as fans consider that Taylor-Joy would make for a pretty damn great Gwen Stacy.

    Of course, it speaks to both the actresses range of talents and popularity that Taylor-Joy’s name would be associated with two very different characters, both of whom played integral roles in both parts of Pete’s life. While this would mark the third live-action iteration of Gwen (with Bryce Dallas Howard and Emma Stone each having portrayed the characters in Sony’s previous Spider-Man franchises), Hardy has really never been fully realized in a Spider-Man film.

    Certainly should Taylor-Joy portray one or the other of the two characters, it would not necessarily mean the other would be ruled out of an appearance in the film. Previous rumors have circulated that Marvel was interested in Sydney Sweeney and a “Madelyn Cline-type” actress for a role in the film. Either of those stars could arguably fill the role of Felicia Hardy alongside Taylor-Joy as Gwen. At this point, even though trades will likely break casting news in the new year, it may be some time before the true nature of the new film, and the roles within in, becomes clear.

    Spider-Man 4 is currently expected to swing into theaters on July 24th, 2026.

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Locking In on the MCU’s Jean Grey

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Locking In on the MCU’s Jean Grey

    It’s not easy being Jean. Despite having an entire film dedicated to her in each of Fox’s X-Men in the original Fox trilogy and in the alternate timeline reboot that followed X-Men: Days of Future Past, it is resoundingly safe to say that we still haven’t gotten a solid live-action version of Jean Grey. An Omega-level telepath whose true upper limit to her power remains undefined, Grey was never given proper agency in either iteration and was reduced to a supporting character in both of Fox’s efforts to tell a classic comic book story in which she is the main character. Watch X-Men: The Last Stand and ask yourself, if as Logan kills Jean, if you feel worse for her or him.

    To be fair, the problem isn’t unique to the Fox films. Outside of Chris Claremont‘s time writing her, Jean hasn’t always been treated much better in the pages of Marvel Comics. The fact remains, however, that as one of the five original members of Charles Xavier’s X-Men, Jean Grey–codename Marvel Girl–has always been and should always remain an integral part of the team’s story and should be at the center of any efforts to tell it. And as Marvel Studios prepares to put its spin on the uncanny team of mutant heroes, a new report indicates that its version will not only include Jean but also that one name has risen to the top of a list to portray the MCU’s version.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Stranger Things and The Whale star Sadie Sink has emerged as the front runner to portray Jean Grey in the MCU.

    Though it may seem a touch early for the studio to be on the lookout for one of the stars of their X-Men reboot, Sneider provided some additional context about Sink’s potential involvement. Despite Marvel Studios’ X-Men film still being in the scripting stages and not expected to be released during the Multiverse Saga, Sneider’s sources believe that the studio is keen on casting the role of Jean Grey now to allow the character to appear in either or both of its next two Avengers films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

    Allowing important characters to debut in other properties before taking center stage in their own is a tactic Marvel Studios has employed to some success in the past. Both Black Panther and Spider-Man debuted in Captain America: Civil War ahead of starring in their own projects. Making the rumor more believable is that both Doomsday and Secret Wars are being directed by Joe and Anthony Russo who directed Civil War and who have, in the past, expressed a desire to be involved with the MCU’s X-Men. It could all be a coincidence, of course, and being a frontrunner is much different than being cast; however, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see more mutants than just Jean–and more mutants than just the ones the studio plans to move forward with in the future–before the Multiverse Saga comes to a close.

    Source: Hot Mic Podcast

  • Marvel TV Boss Addresses the Canonicity of Marvel’s ABC Shows

    Marvel TV Boss Addresses the Canonicity of Marvel’s ABC Shows

    It’s all connected. For a decade, that tagline defined the MCU to the extent that it used as the subtitle for the first Marvel Cinema Universe Guidebook. Fans fawned over every fragment of connectivity, theorizing which character might show up where and how each post-credit scene might set up the next big thing. However, as Marvel Studios moved into the Multiverse Saga and a new era of streaming their own series on Disney Plus, comfort turned into confusion with the rapid expansion of projects and characters.

    In an effort to combat the confusion, Marvel Studios began rebranding its streaming projects. Beginning with a pair of special presentations (Werewolf By Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special), the studio quietly moved from an era of “required reading” and toward a choose your own adventure model. Projects created under the Marvel Spotlight banner, such as Echo, were devised in order to ensure that “viewers don’t have to watch any other Marvel series to understand the plot.” Further rebranding of projects under newly formed Marvel Television or Marvel Animation banners were an effort by the studio to “signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand,” cementing a less connected, more diacritical experience in which “the characters still live and breathe in the same universe, but the interconnectivity is not so rigid that you need to watch Project A to understand Project B,” according to Marvel TV head honcho Brad Winderbaum.

    There was a lot of pressure post-Avengers: Endgame on the public to feel obligated to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything. Part of the rebranding was a signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand. Some will be more comedic, some will be more dramatic, some will be animated, some will be live-action. Marvel is more than just one thing — it is actually many different genres that just happened to coexist in a single narrative.

    Marvel’s head of streaming, television and animation, Brad Winderbaum, on the studio’s rebranding, May 2024

    One of Marvel Television’s most anticipated upcoming projects, Daredevil: Born Again, may provide the first real opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the rebranding. Though the events of the news series will spin out of the events of the Netflix Marvel series from the mid-2010s,baudiences should not need to watch the 39-hour-ish long episodes of Netflix’s Daredevil in order to enjoy the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series, Daredevil: Born Again, even though all of Netflix’s Marvel series were recently retconned as Sacred Timeline canon.

    Now that some time has passed, now that we actually see how well-integrated the stories are, I personally, Brad Winderbaum, will confidently say that they are part of the Sacred Timeline.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    And while Winderbaum gave his stamp of approval to the canonicity of the Netflix series, he dodged, ducked, dipped, dove and dodged the issue of another fan-favorite series from the mid-2010s: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “I want to go down this road with you, you know I do, but we’re just gonna take a deep breath for a second,” said Winderbaum in an August 2024 interview with Screen Rant. Hardly a strong show of support for Phil Coulson and crew.

    As one might expect, Winderbaum‘s comments weren’t warmly received by AoS fans; however, given his position at Marvel, he would certainly be the one to know…and four months later, it seems nothing has changed.

    In a new interview with Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier, Winderbaum was pressed once more about the canonicity of Marvel TV’s  ABC shows and he hasn’t budged on his stance. When asked by Deckelmeier if Marvel TV’s Agent Carter, which ran for two seasons on ABC, was considered MCU canon, not only did Winderbaum refuse to confirm that it was but he also lumped it in with all of Marvel’s ABC shows.

    “Well, I’ll tell you this, and put it to you like this. It’s exciting for me to think about how to square those ABC shows with the canon,” said Winderbaum, indicating that while he has thought about how to canonize Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter and Inhumans, he hasn’t figured out how to do so just yet.”That, to me, if you know me and the way my brain works, that is fun territory to imagine,” confirming that for now, imagination is the only place in which those series should be considered canon.

    While that’s made quite clear on Disney Plus, where those shows, along with a few others, can be found in an “Agents and Inhumans” category rather than in the “Complete MCU Timeline” category, fans of the series still find plenty of ways to make the events of the shows tie into the ongoing story of MCU. And at the end of the day, that’s just fine and what being a fan is all about.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • Hell is Empty…New Rumors Suggest All the Devils Are in ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Hell is Empty…New Rumors Suggest All the Devils Are in ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Perhaps no Marvel Studios movie took hardcore fans for more of a ride before it was released than Spider-Man: No Way Home…and that madness may have already been surpassed by its sequel.

    In 2021, ahead of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which put a bow on the MCU-set Spider-Man trilogy, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, assured fans that development on a fourth Spidey film had already begun in collaboration with Sony. Star Tom Holland reportedly struck a deal to stay on as the Wall-Crawler in 2022 shortly after Feige revealed that Spider-Man and Daredevil were set to lead the MCU’s crew of street-level heroes through the Multiverse Saga.

    In an early 2023 interview with EW, Feige revealed that the studio cracked the story for Spider-Man 4 and that development on the script had begun. “All I will say is that we have the story,” said Feige. “We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.” Though the work stoppages of 2023 slowed progress on putting that story together, details on the plot of the first installment of the new Spidey trilogy emerged. Spinning, in part, out of the events of the D+ streaming series Daredevil: Born Again, Spider-Man 4 was rumored to feature a “street-level civil war” that would see Spidey and Daredevil gather a team of heroes to take on Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin in an adaptation of Marvel Comics Devil’s Reign that would feature Spidey teaming up with Daredevil to take on Wilson Fisk.

    More recent buzz had the film evolving into an unprecedented high-stakes crossover event that would feature Sony’s latest Venom villain, Knull, the King in Black. However, despite Venom: The Last Dance just touching “the beginnings of his story”, rumors of the project being titled Spider-Man: The King in Black quickly pivoted to another comic-based title: Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

    Following the events of Doomsday, Peter Parker is determined to lead a normal life and focus on college, stepping back from his responsibilities as Spider-Man. However, peace is short-lived when a deadly new threat emerges, endangering his promise. With stakes higher than ever, Peter reluctantly returns to his Spider-Man identity and finds himself teaming up with an unlikely ally to protect those he loves.

    -Reported synopsis of Spider-Man: Brand New Day via Prodcution Weekly

    Though the latest rumored synopsis for synopsis skirted the issue, the Brand New Day subtitle will certainly ring a bell with comic book readers as the follow up to the controversial One More Day arc that saw Peter Parker strike a deal with the devil. Now, a new report from a longtime Hollywood insider points the pitchfork at a potential appearance by that very devil…and another…in Spider-Man 4.

    In a bit of a chaotic scoop, Jeff “The In” Sneider revealed that Sacha Baron Cohen‘s Mephisto, set to make his MCU debut in 2025 in Marvel Television’s Ironheart, may appear in Spider-Man 4…but that he also may not…but that it would be great if he did…but there’s no confirmation that he will. Sneider did, however, feel far more confident that Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil would indeed appear, though whether or not it would be as part of the rumored Devil’s Reign adaptation was not addressed.

    While Sneider ‘s sources are mixed on an appearance by Mephisto, there’s no doubt that the state in which Parker’s life was left  at the conclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home would absolutely leave the door open for the Whisperer in Darkness to attempt to make one of his foul pacts. And, perhaps coincidentally, that would align with the rumored Spider-Man: Brand New Day synopsis. Pragmatically, it’s likely the rumor mill is only a quarter turn or so through its most frustrating rotation as fans should buckle in for another “are Garfield and Maguire in No Way Home” scenario.

    Spider-Man 4 is set to begin filming next summer and is due in theaters on July 24, 2026.

  • Marvel Studios Releases Official Synopses for All Eight Episodes of the Final Season of ‘What If…?’

    Marvel Studios Releases Official Synopses for All Eight Episodes of the Final Season of ‘What If…?’

    The final season of Marvel Animation’s multiversal adventure, What If…?, is almost upon us and Marvel Studios has begun the final marketing push. The studio recently revealed the titles of the final eight episodes of the show, giving away a surprise or two in the process. Now, just four days away from the debut of the first episode, official synopses for each episode have been released by Disney.

    Episode 1: What If…The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?

    Captain America/Sam Wilson must suit up in a colossal mech suit to battle Bruce Banner after an attempt to cure himself of the Hulk goes horribly wrong. Bucky Barnes, Monica Rambeau, Moon Knight, and others must join Sam as his new team of Mech Avengers.

    Episode 2: What If…Agatha Went to Hollywood?

    Howard Stark may have helped the Allies win World War II…but what he really wants to do is direct! On the set of Stark Pictures’ first production, the playboy auteur quickly finds himself enchanted by his bewitching lead actress, Agatha Harkness. Little does she know there will be another superpower co-star on the call sheet…Kingo.

    Episode 3: What If…The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier?

    It is 1991, and the Red Guardian takes it upon himself to join a high-profile mission and prove himself to his Red Room superiors. When his antics interfere with the Winter Soldier’s own mission to kill Howard Stark, the two Soviet supersoldiers must form an alliance to escape the United States.

    Episode 4: What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched?

    Howard the Duck and Darcy Lewis find themselves on an intergalactic pleasure cruise. When dangerous factions from across the galaxy descend to threaten their trip, they must discover their own cosmic powers to withstand the onslaught.

    Episode 5: What If…The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?

    In a Universe where The Eternals never stopped The Emergence, the birth of an incubating Celestial shatters the Earth. Civilization endures on the rocky remnants of our planet, where Quentin Beck leads an authoritarian regime until freedom fighters recruit Riri Williams on a deadly mission to take him down.

    Episode 6: What If…1872?

    In a universe where the heroes of the MCU live in the Old West, Shang-Chi and his pistol-packing partner, Kate Bishop, traverse the frontier, saving the innocent from the evils of The Hood.

    Episode 7: What If…The Watcher Disappeared?

    The Watcher must stand trial for his many interventions.

    Episode 8: What If…What If?

    The end of the beginning… 

    The third and final season of What If…? begins streaming daily episodes on December 22nd.

  • Kevin Feige Confirms a Major Marvel Studios Sequel Is on the Way

    Kevin Feige Confirms a Major Marvel Studios Sequel Is on the Way

    Released in 2018, Black Panther still stands as Marvel Studios’ third highest-grossing film with only Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home having raked in more at the domestic box office. Six years later, it also remains the studio’s most critically acclaimed project and beloved by fans. Following the tragic death of its star, Chadwick Boseman, the franchise continued with Letitia Wright taking over as its lead in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Released into a different box office environment than its predecessor, Wakanda Forever, held together by a strong creative team, also did extremely well at the box office, taking in $453M domestically, placing it 8th on the MCU’s all-time list.

    While writer and director Ryan Coogler undoubtedly stands as the driving force behind the Black Panther franchise, Marvel Parliament member and executive producer Nate Moore was also an integral piece of the team behind the scenes. Now, Moore–who produced seveb projects at Marvel Studios including the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World–is taking his career in a different direction but not without finishing what he started.

    In statements released to the trades, Moore, along with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Co-President Louis D’Esposito, revealed that while Moore is leaving the company, he will return to work with them in some capacity on Black Panther 3, marking the first confirmation from studio brass that the project is in development.

    In 2022, still reeling from the emotions of moving ahead in the franchise without its star and close friend, Coogler explained that he had yet to figure out what was next for him, much less when he might be ready to tackle Black Panther 3. While Feige confirmed that he and Coogler had some “ideas pitched back and forth“, he made it very clear that while a new director could possibly take over the franchise, it was his strong preference to move forward with Coogler when he was ready. It seems as though that time is drawing near.

    Nate is a fantastic executive and colleague as well as a wonderful friend to all of us here at Marvel Studios. He has been a core member of our team since 2010, and his influence will continue to reverberate in our storytelling. Although we’ll miss him a great deal, we look forward to watching what he does next while also having the good fortune of working with him in a new way on our next Black Panther movie.

    “Nearly everything I know about producing I’ve learned from my time at Marvel Studios. I feel lucky to have worked with a group of people who love filmmaking and storytelling as much as my Marvel colleagues and the cast and crew of our films,” said Moore. “But I couldn’t be more excited to apply my experience and passion for film towards theatrical movies in all genres, including returning to the world of Wakanda for Black Panther 3.”

    It’s unclear at this time if the third installment in the Black Panther franchise is far enough along in its development to be included in the Multiverse Saga (there are currently two Untitled Marvel Studios films scheduled for release in 2026) or if the studio would release the threequel as part of its next saga, which will begin in 2027.

    Source: Deadline

  • Marvel Television’s ‘Nova’ Adds Veteran Crime Drama Showrunner

    Marvel Television’s ‘Nova’ Adds Veteran Crime Drama Showrunner

    Six years after Kevin Feige claimed that the Human Rocket had “immediate potential” to pop up in the MCU, Marvel Studios finally seems to be ready for Richard Rider to join the fray…a few years from now. First developed as a film with Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada working on the script in 2022, Nova was transitioned to television a year later and put on hold while the studio began restructuring its streaming plans. With a new roadmap in place, things started moving on Nova again earlier this year with an eye on a 2025 start of production. With the new year right around the corner, a new report has revealed that Marvel is indeed ready to launch Nova and has brought a veteran TV writer on board to lead the charge.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Ed Bernero, who has over 25 years of television experience, has agreed to become the showrunner of Marvel Television’s Nova. Bernero, who created the NBC crime drama Third Watch and wrote more than two dozen episodes of Criminal Minds, is also expected to serve as a writer on the streaming project.

    News of Bernero’s deal comes hot on the heels of a report that Nova would introduce the classic Marvel Comics’ villain Annihilus and pit the Bug-Lord against a young team of Nova Corpsmen. Given Bernero‘s background, which also includes Crossing Lines, a crime drama that focuses on an elite team of special investigators, it seems reasonable to assume that while Rider will be the series’ central figure, the other Corps members will feature prominently in the action. With Bernero just now signing on, the studio will begin assembling a writers room and start the casting process.

    As only the third project to feature a true showrunner since the studio’s restructuring, there’s not enough data to accurately predict a timeline of events; however, taking a look at the timeline from Terry Matalas‘ taking over as showrunner of the upcoming Vision series in May 2024 to its expected February 2025 start of production, it’s safe to say cameras won’t roll on Nova until the second half of 2025. With Marvel Studios actively seeking to reduce its streaming output, that likely means the series won’t hit Disney Plus until 2027 and may actually be part of the studio’s post-Multiverse Saga plans.

    Source: The In”Sneider”, Deadline

  • Hogwarts Rip-off Series Reportedly Being Developed at Marvel Studios

    Hogwarts Rip-off Series Reportedly Being Developed at Marvel Studios

    The stan culture that has developed around Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff and the impressive success of Agatha All Along should serve as strong indicators to the Marvel Parliament that there’s an interest in more stories set in the mystical corner of the MCU. Though strong performances by Olsen and Agatha star Kathryn Hahn are huge factors, audiences were just as enchanted by Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone, whose performance earned her a Critics’ Choice Award nomination. In this instance, it’s not just big names but good stories to which fans are responding and it’s clear they want more.

    With that in mind and HBO preparing to bring Harry Potter back to the pop culture forefront with a new streaming series set to debut in 2026, it sounds as though Disney may be preparing to take advantage of the buzz.

    According to a report from MCU insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Television is developing an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Strange Academy for Disney Plus.

    Created by Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos, Marvel Comics Strange Academy debuted in 2020 and focused on a new generation of magic users being trained in the mystic arts at a Hogwarts-esque school opened by Stephen Strange. Classes at Strange Academy were led by an array of Marvel mages including Doctor Voodoo, Wanda Maximoff, Wong, Magik and, yes, Agatha Harkness and covered a range of topics from astral projections to interdimensional geography to xenoanatomy.

    The report calls to mind a nearly two-year old rumor that indicated Marvel Studios was developing the IP with Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez as co-leads. Given the recent restructuring behind the scenes at Marvel Studios, it’s likely that whatever plans may have initially been in place for Strange Academy have changed. Additionally, it’s always worth repeating that Marvel Studios’ Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, has cautioned fans that a project being in development does not mean it will ever be realized on screen.

  • Major Marvel Villain Reportedly Set to Debut in D+ Streaming Series

    Major Marvel Villain Reportedly Set to Debut in D+ Streaming Series

    As Marvel Studios struggled to string together consecutive hits from 2021 through 2023, fans not only believed those struggles signaled the end of the studio’s time on top was near but also began to embrace some disturbing revisionism. While fans and critics alike piled on their reprovals of Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumanaia, Secret Invasion and more, they bemoaned the loss of the good old days of the Infinity Saga, when Marvel didn’t miss…except that’s not exactly how it went down.

    The mind has a way of distorting memories of reality as time moves on and remembering the Infinity Saga as a perfect bundle of projects is a perfect example. Not only did Marvel Studios produce some duds during its first saga (Thor: The Dark World, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 still stand among the least-loved MCU films), but it also had an ongoing problem pitting its heroes against incredibly weak villains for the better part of an entire phase. “Marvel has a villain problem” was an ongoing criticism of Phase 2 in which the studio dropped the ball adapting some of Marvel Comics’ great baddies such as Malekith, Ronan the Accuser and Advanced Idea Mechanics. The studio heard the criticisms, addressed them behind the scenes and moved forward with an improved lineup of antagonists. In 2017, the studio’s capacity to challenge its heroes increased exponentially with an influx of available characters following the acquisition of the live-action rights of the sizeable stable of characters previously owned by Fox. Now, a new report reveals that the studio may finally have found the right project in which to unleash one of Marvel Comics greatest threats for his live-action debut.

    According to long-time MCU insider Daniel Richtman, the interdimensional nihilist Annihilus will serve as the primary antagonist of Marvel Television’s Nova.

    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. Earlier this year, Richtman reported that the studio had finalized plans to develop Nova as a streaming series and to have the original Human Rocket, Richard Rider, as the lead alongside a team of young Nova Corpsmen. Adding Annihilus to the mix would indicate the studio plans to pull no punches as it rightfully looks to set up Rider as its greatest Cosmic hero.

    Originally introduced as a Fantastic Four villain, Annihilus has grown in power over the years and has become a threat to the existence of the entire universe. The ruler of a pocket dimension known as the Negative Zone, Annihilus, with the power gifted to him by wielding the Cosmic Control Rod, set his sights on conquering Earth and then the entire “positive” galaxy. Thus, in 2006, Annihilus was the main antagonist of the Cosmic crossover event, Annihilation, in which he lead his Annihilation Wave out of the Negative Zone and wreaked havoc on the galaxy as he attempted to extinguish all life within it.

    Of course, any use of the Nova Corps would require some significant changes to the organization which was first introduced in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, especially if they are going to take on The Lord of the Negative Zone. Though it wasn’t seen on screen, Thanos likely provided the first steps in that direction when he took the Power Stone from Xandar before attacking Thor, Loki, Hulk and a shipful of Asgardians between the events of Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.

    With production on Nova expected to begin in 2025 and Marvel Studios looking to reduce its output of streaming series to two per year, it seems reasonable that the series may not make its way to Disney Plus until 2027, making a full decade between the acquisition of the live-action rights to Annhilus and his MCU debut. Given the potential, however, for the First-born Son of Oblivion to be an ongoing threat for a new saga, it may end up having been worth the wait.

  • ‘What If ..?’ Season 3 Episode Titles Reveal a Few Big Surprises

    ‘What If ..?’ Season 3 Episode Titles Reveal a Few Big Surprises

    On December 22nd, the third and final season of Marvel Animation’s What If…? will get underway on Disney Plus. As was the case with Season 2, Marvel will debut one new episode a day with the series finale dropping on December 29th. Ahead of the season debuting next week, Marvel Studios has released an episode guide complete with the titles of the final eight episodes. And as you might expect, some are a little unexpected!

    While quite a few of the episodes have been prominently featured in the marketing for the series, quite a bit more can be gleaned about their premises now that titles have been revealed. For example, it’s been known for quite some time that an episode would feature Mech Avengers taking on Kaiju; however, knowing that they will also take on the Hulk certainly spices up the episode a bit.

    Episode 4, “What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched”, will almost certainly be a follow up to Season 1’s “What If…Thor Were an Only Child?” which saw the Master of Quack-Fu fall in love with Darcy Lewis. An absurd idea, to be sure, but you know the old saying: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Byrdie in a baby carriage.

    Though it seems as though 2021’s Eternals may never get a proper theatrical or streaming sequel, Episode 5, “What If…The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?”, will at least acknowledge the project and remind everyone it exists before Tiamut pops back up in Captain America: Brave New World.

    Featured heavily but without context in trailers and promo spots for Season 3 was Episode 6, featuring Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop and Simu Liu‘s Shang-Chi. Inspired, it would seem, by the 2015 Secret Wars title, 1872, “What If…1872?” will explore the Old West similar to the way that Season 2’s “What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?” did with familiar characters in an unusual setting.

    Finally, as has been the case over the first two seasons, it is likely that Episode 7, “What If…The Watcher Disappeared?” will dovetail into Episode 8, “What If…What If?”. And though we’d hesitate to go too far out on a limb, it’s likely that over the course of those two final episodes, Captain Carter’s ongoing What If…? story will be picked back up and taken to its denouement.

    The final eight episodes of What If…? begin on Disney Plus on December 22nd!