Tag: MCU

James Gunn Reveals Which ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Actors He Hopes to Recruit to the DCU

“What a bunch of a-holes.” A great line from the first trailer that hooked fans on the little-known Guardians of the Galaxy. Nearly a decade later, those same a-holes have become household names and are about to go on their last mission together in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The film will be the last MCU project for director James Gunn (and at least one of the Guardians) as he transitions to his new role as the co-chair of DC Studios; however, according to Gunn, it won’t be the last time he teams up with some of the talented cast members.

In an interview with Empire, Gunn expressed his love for the cast of the Guardians and his interest to work with (some of) them again. “This cast are like my family,” explained Gunn. “I cannot tell you how close I am to Chris Pratt and Pom [Klementieff] and Dave [Bautista] and Zoe [Saldaña] and Karen [Gillan]. But I also know I will work again with all those people individually again. Probably at my other job.” Unfortunately, it looks like Gunn’s brother, Sean, will have to look elsewhere for work.

In reality, there’s not a major studio in operation that wouldn’t want to work with any and all of the actors Gunn listed. Pratt and Saldaña are already A-listers with their own franchises outside of Guardians, Gillan’s star continues to climb, Bautista has sought out more and more serious roles and Klementieff will be featured in the next Mission: Impossible film. Outside of Saldaña, the actors have Gunn and the success of the Guardians franchise to thank for their bountiful opportunities. With Gunn preparing to unveil at least a portion of the new DCU slate, it’ll be worth watching to see if he’s already carved out any roles for the talented Guardians.

Source: Empire

January 18, 2023
Jonathan Majors is Here To Conquer The MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been no stranger to great expectations. As we’ve gone through each phase the hype has grown to an impossible level to measure. From YouTube Easter eggs to fan theories and fan casts there’s been a bit of disappointment. Whether it’s warranted or not we have arrived at an interesting point as MCU fans. Phase 5 begins with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and there’s a high level of anticipation. Sure, it’s great to see Scott, Hope, Cassie, and the rest of the crew. However, we know why we’re really here and his name is Kang.

Kang The Conqueror is synonymous with greatness. He is one of the greatest villains of all time, and one of the more fascinating characters in comic book lore. He’s time-bending; he’s mind-bending; he’s a threat unlike any other in Marvel. When time travel was introduced in Avengers: Endgame, the thought for many fans who are studious to this is that Kang could not be far behind. Lo and behold, he is here. Now take this into consideration, when you are casting for this role you need a heavy hitter. You need the best, the absolute best. Enter Jonathan Majors.

At the end of Loki Season 1, at the end of time, both Loki and Sylvie were introduced to He Who Remains, a variant of Kang, who had been pulling all the strings. Before his death at the hands of Sylvie, He Who Remains shared some weighty thoughts. “You may hate the dictator, but something… far worse is gonna fill that void if you dispose of him. I’ve lived a million lifetimes. I’ve gone through every scenario. This is the only way.” These are words we hung on and were captivated by. The delivery, the playfulness, and the all-knowing fatigue of that power was mystifying. We’ve seen great performances in the MCU, wrought with great emotion and full of surprises. This was the most electrifying performance we’ve seen to date in the franchise.

There’s a level of expectation to deliver that Majors superseded. The bar has been raised. This wasn’t even the actual character that he was playing. Just a version. One, singular version. Kevin Feige and Co. have made a decision to build this saga around this gentleman and it will pay off in spades. We are not prepared for what we are about to see. You just have to sit back and enjoy it. If you want variants you’re getting them. If you want a compelling character you’re getting that tenfold. You’re probably saying to yourself that this is overhype, this is hyperbole. It’s not. In fact it’s underselling the point.

To make a bit of a comparison, there’s a conversation when it comes to Denzel Washington as an all-time great that in his movies he’s always Denzel. It’s an endearing quality that we love to mention. Jonathan Majors disappears into his roles. Like a chameleon, you only know the character and the person is replaced. There’s a specific scene in The Last Black Man In San Francisco that explains what can’t be explained here. If you get a chance watch that movie, and if you have relive this scene.

When you watch this scene you understand the talent and why he was chosen to anchor Phase 5 of the MCU. In an interview with Empire magazine, Majors discussed playing the villain and what that entails. “Kang adds tonal diversity, real conflict and real friction,” he promises. “You’re being introduced to a new vibration in the MCU. There’s conflict – not just mano-a-mano, not just hero and villain, but your way of life’ and ‘my way of life’. I’m coming for it. We’re in battle here.” That sounds like someone ready to wear the crown.

Usually, with a villain, we have a foreboding sense of fear of what might happen. As fans, you can feel the level of excitement when Kang is mentioned, theorized about and discussed. We just know we’re getting something special, and this is why we go to the movies.

It is extremely rare to feel ready to sit back and watch greatness. There won’t be a worry and there won’t be a thought about whether Quauntumania has a bad post-credit scene or was too long or too short. There will be a moment when the MCU once again raises expectations for us and then they are met because they chose the right man to lead the way. You’re out of your league, Ant-Man. It’s just another reminder that Jonathan Majors is here to conquer, for all time.

January 18, 2023
‘Wakanda Forever’ and ‘Quantumania’ Set February Release Dates in China

For the first time since Spider-Man: No Way Home debuted in theaters in June 2019, Chinese audiences will be able to catch a Marvel Studios film in theaters. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania have slated release dates in China, heading to theaters on February 7th and February 17th, respectively.

Though Black Widow didn’t have a theatrical run in China, differences in sociopolitical ideologies reportedly kept Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals from theatrical releases and a historically strong relationship with Disney began to fall apart. Relations seemed to be reconciled with the release of Avatar: The Way of Water and that seems to be confirmed with two Marvel tentpoles now headed to theaters.

The Chinese box office has long given a major boost to Disney’s bottom line and in 2022 films such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder likely lost $100M or more as a result of the ongoing dispute between China and Disney. In the cast of Multiverse of Madness, the lack of Chinese receipts almost certainly kept it from crossing the $1B mark. On that note, the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may push its global total near that same $1B mark as it currently stands at $835M and its predecessor pulled in $105M back in 2018.

Marvel Studios has two other major releases in 2023 in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels. In 2017, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 pulled in over $100M in 5 weeks in China and in 2019, Captain Marvel made just over $150M during its 5-week window. While no word on whether those films will receive release dates in mainland China has come down, the prospects certainly seem rosier than they were just a few months ago.

Sources: Deadline

January 17, 2023
Kang’s Time Chair Is The Key To the MCU’s Next Endgame

Marvel’s Phase 5 will kick off in earnest with a Kang variant going to war with the two Ant-Men, the two Wasps, and the 6th Young Avenger to join Earth 616 in Stinger/Stature when Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters next month. Paul Rudd‘s Lang trying to balance his newfound fame with reconnecting with his now-almost-grown-up daughter who has grown up without him over the last five years are stakes made for drama, but it is the role Jonathan Majors‘s Kang plays in these proceedings that is really what impacts the overarching multiversal war coming down the pike. However, judging by the new trailer, war is not what the Conqueror starts out aiming to do, as it is a deal made with Scott Lang gone awry that prompts Kang to beat the everliving ants out of Lang. What is this deal that Scott alludes to? We believe it has to do with the image Empire released recently, with a Conqueror sitting on his throne.

The throne this Kang is sitting on in said image is actually what is known as the Time Chair, and it is an incredibly important piece of tech with ties to those two big Avengers movies we are barreling towards at warp speed. The Time Chair is the device Kang uses to travel anywhere in time that he pleases, and it could stand to reason that we are about to begin to find out that this Kang (before he was trapped in the Quantum Realm) had used the Time Chair to directly impact various points in and out of the MCU. During one of Kang’s initial appearances in the comics, he uses the Time Chair to go back in time to when Steve Rogers’s Captain America perished into the ice. After seeing Cap go into the ice, Kang uses the Time Chair to teleport the Avengers to a future Earth in ruins, with Captain America being his scapegoat for the destruction. Going down the rabbit hole, it is possible that Kang wants to use the Time Chair to do exactly this because Cap didn’t prune all the branches when he went back, but that is for another article. Even more important than how the Chair is connected to the Avengers and their past is how it might be connected to their future.

The Chair itself, in the comics, is powered by the same giant rings that power Kang’s forcefield: you see the giant rings in the latest trailer, which ironically have the same markings as the bangle Kamala Khan got from her grandmother and the Ten Rings Shang-Chi got from his father. The last we saw of the rings, they were acting as a beacon, for something or someone, and it is possible that they are acting as a signal to the Time Chair and its owner. Looking back at the comics for a potential roadmap, Iron Lad (a future Iron Man) is a descendant of Kang, and it is Earth 616’s Iron Man who ultimately disables the Time Chair. Upon disabling the Chair, Iron Man tells Kang that he was able to do this because the chair’s design is actually based off 21st Century Stark Technology tech. If we are to believe that Phase 5 is dealing with the theme of legacy (we have legacy heroes being swapped out for the next generation), then it could stand to reason that it will be the next generation of Avengers who fight Kang first, before potentially giving way
to a multiversal group brought together to bring the fight. Thus, it would also stand to reason that Kang’s power comes from artifacts spread throughout the multiverse that have been passed down to the next generation of protectors. What, then, does this have to do with the finale in the Ant-Man trilogy?

Kang needs Ant-Man to help him find something, and it needs to be something really important if he would offer him the chance to regain some time (the one thing this Kang has dominion over) with his daughter. Now, yes, villains lie, but the more compelling villains actually don’t lie: they manipulate and bend the truth, but they don’t outright lie, and Kang may be no different. He will plan to work with Ant-Man and, upon seeing him with Janet Van Dyne, who is responsible for him being stuck in the Quantum Realm, he chooses to renege. Janet could be the one who disables the Time Chair during her time in the Quantum Realm, and who ultimately hides the piece missing in another reality: there is a line in the Ant-Man and The Wasp where she tells Scott to not fall into any tunnels while in the Quantum Realm, and we are guessing she knows not to do this from experience. What Kang needs found, we think, could be the movie’s MacGuffin, and it could be one of the rings that powers his Time Chair: without it to power his chair, he cannot escape.

You know, one of the rings that make up Kamala’s bangle, and one of the rings that make up
the Ten Rings Shang-Chi has. And, maybe, He Who Remains had a role to play in the
disbursement of the Conqueror’s power years ago.

January 14, 2023
Marvel Studios President Teases Kang’s Motivations In ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania continues to ramp up its marketing campaign with new stills from the movie. Not jus that, they are also giving the fans a few more hints at the plotlines of the film. Speaking with Empire Magazine, Kevin Feige teased Kang the Conqueror’s role in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, and revealed more about his goal in the movie. He alludes to the fact that Kang is seemingly stranded with a device that could do so much more.

He has a ship and a device that would allow him to go anywhere, and any when he wants if he can get it online. If only he had access to genius scientists with Pym Particles.
Kevin Feige

While we don’t know what his ship looks like, the “device” here seemingly refers to the Time Chair, a device of much significance in the comics. We know from the trailer played during last year’s San Diego Comic-Con that Kang made a “deal” with Scott Lang and that he was holding his family hostage until Ant-Man completed his part of the deal.

While Kang’s objectives have been teased multiple times, all of which have pointed toward the cliché multiverse-domination goal, this quote makes him look less like Thanos and more like a guy who just needs the right people at the right time. This definitely makes Cassie Lang’s mistake with the device she created seem less of an accident and more of a perfect flaw, which Kang was just waiting for.

Source: Empire Magazine

January 14, 2023
Marvel Studios and a Cinematic Déjà-Vu of 2022

We’ve entered a new era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The franchise continues to grow in new ways while showing some slowdown in its box office development. The films are still successful and big hits, but they’re not taking the box office completely by storm. Discussions online are talking about a franchise that is “watering down” what it has to offer while general audiences according to the Internet are facing fatigue.

Films are seemingly losing momentum at theaters as people question how the franchise can continue moving forward and likely end in the coming years. Two iconic franchises make a grand return and dominate theaters with stronger legs than any frontloaded Marvel film. Things are looking shaky for Marvel Studios after the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man in 2015.

Oh wait, it’s not 2015 but 2023 has just started. We’ve entered Phase 5 of the MCU with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania about to release in theaters. The only major difference is the effect of the pandemic has taken its toll on theaters during 2020 and 2021, the last year seemed like an uplifting new direction for cinema. We saw some truly great films ranging in variety with some surprise big hits in Top Gun Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water. Two nostalgia-filmed films making a comeback with a legacy sequel.

Instead of enjoying this newfound momentum at the box office and in cinematic offerings, it feels like we’re retreading old ground once again. Marvel didn’t take the top spot this year at the box office and so we’re analyzing the sheer success of these two entries plus the Jurassic World threequel also banking on the nostalgia of a returning cast. It’s great to see these films flourish after years of uncertainty for non-IP-driven projects but there’s a feeling in the air that we’ve gone through this all again.

2015 saw the release of two major legacy sequels. Jurassic World returned us to a dinosaur-filled world that we last saw in 1993; a sequel 22 years in the making. That same year, December saw the breakout release of Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens which brought us back to a true sequel of the iconic franchise just under new Disney leadership to pull in $2 billion worldwide over Christmas. Jurassic World didn’t do so shabby either with a strong $1.6B.

Ironically, here we are again with Avatar: The Way of Water releasing in December under a now Disney-owned banner on its way to passing $2B with strong legs at the box office. Earlier in the year, Top Gun Maverick pulled in $1.4B at the box office as a sequel to a long-dormant franchise with a few more extra years on its back with Tom Cruise at the forefront selling the film.

It feels like a strange sense of déjá-vu, especially if you take into account the discussions surrounding Marvel and superhero fatigue. While some points of these discussions have evolved, it’s still the same argumentation at its basis. Comparisons were drawn to how Marvel needs to evolve or take a step back; now especially popular with its Disney+ streaming offerings doing what many have begged the Netflix shows and ABC series do years ago.

We have comparisons drawn to how Jurassic World makes a better showcase of franchise building than Marvel. It’s something a recent article does as well with Avatar: The Way of Water which is a hard comparison to make if you consider one has multiple franchises under its belt since 2008 and the other had its first sequel release after 13 years; as such only really getting started as a franchise. We have no idea if Avatar will work long-time as the charm of exploring Pandora could also one day lose its vanity.

What we should learn and not repeat from 2015 is what these franchises can learn from each other. Long-running franchises always hit a slump but even Marvel Studios is back to performing as they did during Phase 2. Their last phase had that extra build-up momentum towards what was deemed a “finale” of sorts for the Infinity Saga. They also serve a very different purpose if seen as films. So, they can only learn and evolve from each other if we take the right lessons from everything rather than chasing coattails once again.

Both franchises build familiarity in different ways. Marvel creates a cast of characters that draw in their audience and become selling points to try out new parts of their franchise. The MCU has always been misunderstood as one singular franchise, but in reality, it’s just the umbrella term for multiple franchises or ongoing stories. Yes, some crossovers can interrupt specific stories but we’ve seen the “you need to do your homework” complaint back in 2015 when people complained that “they could’ve just called the Avengers” in every self-contained story or franchise.

Will Marvel run out of steam? At one point, it’s very likely but they still remain strong performers in the market. Even with a big drop in its second weekend, some of the MCU releases in 2022 showed stronger legs later on; something that surprised me even with the Disney+ re-release always imminent due to COVID’s influences on consumer behavior and Bob Chapek‘s desire to grow its streaming service no matter what.

Yet, one cannot deny that it’s also the franchise that has shown the most growth throughout the years. There’s a reason it cannot be emulated, just as much as why Avatar’s performance won’t easily be replicated just because Marvel doesn’t release a film for a few years. They’re a production studio that works independently and has its own quotas to meet. James Cameron released a film in the 20th Century that also is responsible for many other franchises.

If we compare 2022 and 2015, films with massive worldwide performances and impressive legs have something in common: nostalgia. They are legacy sequels to projects that have been long dormant. They make good use of familiar ground while adding some additional elements to still make them stand out. They feel like “self-contained” stories but they are also continuations that anyone can rewatch. Of course, it’s easier to just catch up on one film to get ready for another, but that tune changes once Avatar 7 releases and we have six almost three-hour films to catch up on.

Of course, it’s conjecture to some degree but there’s still a curious thread of these major performers that are “leaving Marvel in the dust” with their strong box office legs. 2015 and 2022 are just so eerily similar with general discussions and it’s no wonder franchise fatigue would set in with a franchise that has been a consistent part since 2008. No one can blame them for feeling a bit overwhelmed at times and if the MCU still remains a strong performer, we’ll likely have this exact same discussion once Phase 8 kicks off with Stinger and the New Avengers.

January 12, 2023
Ryan Reynolds Teases a Collision of Icons in ‘Wolverine and Deadpool’

The third installment of the Deadpool franchise is quickly becoming one of Marvel Studios most anticipated projects if not one the most talked about. Since star Ryan Reynolds revealed that Hugh Jackman was coming out of retirement from the character of Logan to co-star in the untitled film, the project has been in the news fairly consistently. While there are plenty of theories about what the plot of the film will include (and what the title might be!) little is known about the film which goes into production in the Fall of 2023 and plenty of questions about how the very R-rated Deadpool will fit in the very PG-13 MCU.

The tone of the first two Deadpool films, while incredibly different from the average MCU film, is partly responsible for their popularity. Jackman’s last outing as Wolverine in Logan was extremely violent. The irreverence and violence associated with the characters may not seem to fit in the MCU, but according to Reynolds, fans should expect an “authentic” representation of the characters they’ve come to know and love and one hell of a team-up.

It’s really kind of finding a way to service both of these characters that feels extraordinarily authentic to each of them, and I think these two wrongs actually will make a right in a pretty great way.
Ryan Reynolds

As for how he expects to blend the sensibilities of the Deadpool films with Marvel Studios more family-friendly films, Reynolds calls the process of figuring that out a “tightrope walk.”

I think it’s a tightrope walk. I mean most of these movies are always a tightrope walk of tone, so in this instance, though, you have a collision of two pretty iconic characters that exist in the Marvel Ancillary Universe [laughs] — we’re in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point.
Ryan Reynolds

Kevin Feige has gone on record to indicate that Deadpool 3 will have an R-rating, like its predecessors, so it seems fans can still expect more of what they loved. It’s also clear that the “collision” of the two characters is not only the film’s biggest selling point but also the point from which the film is being built out. Deadpool 3 is starting to sound a bit like Lethal Weapon and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Source: The Wrap

January 12, 2023
Kumail Nanjiani Addresses Status of ‘Eternals’ Sequel

Marvel Studios’ Eternals went through 7000 years’ worth of MCU history and explored the mysterious beings’ journey on the planet. It further elaborated on the origin of the Celestials and ended with the Eternals preventing the emergence of Tiamut. However, their plan didn’t go exactly as they thought it would. After the emergence was sabotaged, Arishem the judge abducted the earthly Eternals, to evaluate their memories in order to judge humankind on Earth.

While the consequences of the emergence weren’t explored much, rumors suggest the upcoming Thunderbolts movie and Captain America: New World Order could end up retconning the corpse as Genosha, a mutant nation. An Eternals sequel hasn’t been confirmed to be in development, so these may be the only tie-ins to that film for quite some time and a new statement by Kumail Nanjiani, who portrayed Kingo in Eternals, backs up that premise.

In an interview with Total Film, Nanjiani was asked if he had any plans to reprise the role of Kingo. He replied that he didn’t “know if they [had] plans”, and that he would “love to come back.”

Yeah! I mean, listen, I have plans today. I don’t know if they have plans. I would love to come back. But I’m sort of waiting to hear when or if that’s going to happen. I’m hoping I get to do more. I had a great time playing that character. It’d be a shame if he’s a sort of one and done. But, you know, the decision’s not mine to make.
Kumail Nanjiani

This isn’t long after Ma Dong-seok‘s (who portrays Gilgamesh) management agency listed Eternals 2 among other upcoming projects featuring the actor. We know from MCU executive Nate Moore that Harry Styles wasn’t cast as Starfox/Eros “for a tag”, and there are “more stories to be told” with his character. With more and more information surfacing on the sequel with each passing day, it’s safe to say Eternals 2 will be happening in the near future.

Source: Total Film

January 11, 2023
Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 Gamble in a Post-‘Endgame’ World

In 2022, Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 ended after a volume of projects were released in theaters and on Disney+. It wasn’t going to be easy moving beyond the Infinity Saga, as it would always be in the shadow of Avengers: Endgame wrapping up what some may have felt was the franchise’s true end and the weight of expectation that erupted from it. Going by the Internet’s usual reactionary tale, there have been some mixed emotions at times in regard to how exactly Phase 4 has wrapped up. There have been highs and lows, but there’s something curious about the way the franchise has been developing for over ten years in.

Lightning in a Bottle

Cinema has been dominated by superhero films; there’s no denying that fact. Not just by Marvel Studios but any other studio trying to replicate the style and base concept that led them to what they are today. The Cinematic Universe remains a distant dream for some studios even as others built their own take that allowed them to at least attempt a similar style of world-building to make use of that glimmer of replication they’d been searching for.

Even Sony struggled to somehow get the Marvel license to work in their favor with various strange choices in characters to headline their own Spider-Man spinoff. After the DC Extended Universe failed to truly get going, they now are simply wiping the slate clean with Peter Safran and James Gunn spearheading the entire cinematic universe. As of now, they are Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav‘s only hope to create what Kevin Feige kickstarted back in 2008.

Going by how desperate the attempts have been throughout the years, it’s easy to just forget how insane it’s been that Marvel Studios’ held up a cinematic franchise for over ten years. It even ends in a grand finale that wraps up so many stories in a way that almost seemed impossible to accomplish a few years ago. Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame were game-changers for this approach and only Marvel could pull it off.

Limitations of a Studio

Imagine you’re in the same shoes as a production study that already managed to do the impossible. They build a cinematic universe and managed to wrap up its initial storylines in a way that had many come together in joy. What do you do next? They pretty much have to set up a sequel that not only welcomes a new era of heroes with some legacy actors leaving their respective roles behind while also paying tribute to what came before. It’s not an easy task for any studio to just whip up while still trying to leave one legacy behind.

Wherever one feels about Phase 4, Marvel Studios took on way more risks going into the latest generation. Not only did they have Disney+ but also had the opportunity to reshape the way we view what makes a Marvel film what it is. The Marvel formula trope has been around since the first Phase of the MCU, and just doing the same thing over and over again would not always yield results.

Don’t forget: Marvel Studios only has Marvel. The Internet may complain about the number of projects they put out and have the IP Marvel brand slapped onto it, it’s all this one production studio can use. They aren’t Lucasfilm that developed other projects based on various IPs besides their anchor of Star Wars. They aren’t Warner Bros. that can publish Don’t Worry Darling and Black Adam in the same year as distinct projects. Marvel is in their name and it’s all they can use.

Disney’s Plus on Pressure

Plus, the expectation of any project being part of the MCU adds to that pressure. Disney+ is a Disney-owned streaming service that needs to become competitive fast. It would’ve been dumb not to make use of your biggest brand to ensure its growth can compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon, and more. So, Marvel Studios now stands at the challenging crossroad to help Disney grow its streaming service while remaining bound to its MCU structure.

Marvel Studios didn’t just up their production without any forethought; no matter how some tried to paint that very picture. They absorbed Marvel TV, who had barely any projects moving forward and facing challenges long before they entered the streaming game, to make use of their experience. They had long-time employees that were involved since the early days take on producing roles to help these developments.

Now, they wanted to offer something unique while former Disney CEO Bob Chapek tried to shape the streaming service with his own unique team; something Bob Iger‘s return swiftly wiped out. There’s a lot that happened behind the scenes throughout the years that definitely made Phase 4 way more challenging than it truly needed to be. We don’t know all the details but somehow Marvel Studios still managed to produce some high-quality productions as they adapted to a new format under very challenging circumstances.

A Pandemic of Issues

Speaking of, we can’t forget that there’s another elephant in the room that is still showing its fangs to this day. COVID-19 changed everything we know and hampered many productions throughout the years. It forced the newly developed Volume technology, made popular through The Mandalorian, to take on a much bigger role for projects like The Batman, Thor: Love and Thunder, and more. VFX artists are forced to work from home trying to keep up the usual pace we saw before the pandemic.

Productions like Black Adam pushed back its release to work on its VFX longer, but this still led to the similar issues anyone has accused Marvel of throughout the year. There’s a bigger issue at play with how VFX artists and the industry’s general abuse of its systems, but it’s not a singular problem even if the most popular franchise became a quasi-popular choice to point it out. Productions like Moon Knight or Falcon and the Winter Soldier couldn’t film in locations due to travel restrictions, forcing them to adapt as quickly as possible.

All these small issues add up and can be seen in some productions. Not just that, Marvel Studios even with its TV merger was still new to this game. They not only had to adapt their usual structure to a format they weren’t adjusted to but during times when you’re not given many choices in how you adapt. Most productions that have released up to this point were all still filmed during the high point of the pandemic. There’s an interesting irony in how two of the only productions to beat box office expectations in 2022, Minions: Rise of Gru and Top Gun: Maverick, are holdovers from 2020.

Phase 4’s Gamble

Under all these circumstances, there’s something fascinating about how Phase 4 felt the most creatively free of any phases. Fittingly, it felt like a callback to the early days when Marvel Studios was still learning the ropes during Phase 1. The studio took a gamble with Phase 4 by simply diversifying rather than relying too much on what worked in the past. In a way, they may have worried that the superhero fatigue would set in eventually; even if it has been mentioned since Avengers: Age of Ultron all the way back in 2015.

So, they seemingly took more chances with their projects. She-Hulk had a very specific audience in mind that opens up their portfolio to new viewers. Moon Knight was an actor-driven project while Secret Presentations introduced a more open concept for further exploration of the MCU in short film form. Even the films had some rather strong director-driven elements like Chloé Zhao introducing indie filmmaking elements with Eternals, Sam Raimi doing his thing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Taika Waititi going full comedy in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Playing the Long Game

As much as people want to focus on the now, this gamble is something more for the long term. If they diversify and try out new things now, they’ll benefit from it further down the line as the new Saga, confirmed to be the Multiverse Saga, finds its legs. Still, they haven’t lost all their momentum and power at the box office, especially after a harsh year like 2021.

2022 was the first year of recovery for the box office since the pandemic hit and Marvel Studios still stands strong at the box office with most of its entries pulling in strong numbers. People tend to point to them not passing a billion with any of the projects as one warning sign, but it’s not too surprising given China’s exclusion, two key markets currently at war, still adjustments post-pandemic, and a generally dead year for releases.

Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun Maverick are the only films this year showcasing any strong legs; ironically both being the same type of nostalgia-driven entry building upon a long absence combined with good word-of-mouth. Marvel is still going strong and all that in a post-Endgame blues phase that would require some reshaping and reorganizing to keep going.

Phase 5 and Beyond

We’re about to enter Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it’s got a lot of interesting projects that seem like they continue this trend of what we saw before. The projects may continue to get more interconnected moving forward as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania builds upon the main antagonist of the saga, who may also appear in the second season of Loki. Secret Invasion and The Marvels may build upon each other reshaping our understanding of the world; perhaps even past projects. Daredevil: Born Again and Echo act as a pair further exploring more grounded elements of this world with Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts‘ rumors hinting at the MCU continuing to expand in creative but exciting ways.

The MCU is not going to end anytime soon and we may slowly see a shift back to those elements that people fell in love with. Marvel Studios may also adapt its pacing with the shows and films; especially after taking some lessons from what they learned. Bob Iger is back in charge at Disney and he may give some more freedom back to the studios that were lost during Chapek‘s reign and the needs built around Disney+. We may also see some lessons learned from the pandemic on how to best optimize and further develop their projects.

Change isn’t something immediate, just like how the Phase 4 gamble may not pay off for everyone right now. While the outcry machine that is the internet remains the way it is, there’s more to what is currently happening. Fatigue may be building up for some but others may have just found themselves joining a world they only heard about from friends. Maybe everyone is just waiting for that one project to catch their attention like the franchise used to; especially with our nostalgia for what once was many years ago. Like any long-running franchise, we sometimes remember “what once was” with different glasses than when it was released especially after the emotional rollercoaster that was Avengers: Endgame. Perhaps there’s a good reason why there hasn’t been another Avengers film since and won’t be until 2025.

January 3, 2023
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Won’t Release on Disney+ in January After All

James Cameron‘s Avatar: The Way Of Water continues to dominate the box office over the holiday weekend, but that doesn’t mean other films aren’t holding on as well. Disney’s other massive release of the year, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has still been going strong as it now stands at $820M worldwide. Many worried that heading to Disney+ too early could drag its box office down, but it seems that it’s being given quite a lot of time to breathe.

After several weeks of listing the movie as “Coming Soon to Disney+”, the platform has finally updated the page, which is now listed as “Coming to Disney+ February 1, 2023.” Not too long ago, Disney+’s support team apparently confirmed the movie to be released on January 20th on the streaming service, which now has been seemingly debunked. It’s unclear if they may have pushed back the release date, or perhaps the Support Team jumped the gun on sharing the information.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+.

The time duration between the end of the theatrical window and the Disney+ release has varied quite a lot, from Black Widow‘s 0 days (with Disney+ premier access) to Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings‘ 81 days. Most recent projects have commonly released around the 45-day mark, which has led to some fear of its influence on a film’s box office performance. Luckily, it seems Disney is moving away from exactly that.

February 1st also marks the start of Black History Month in the United States and Canada, which might be part of the decision as to why this date was chosen. Just like all the other MCU movies streaming on Disney+, this will be available to watch in IMAX enhanced, which allows viewers to have an immersive experience and enjoy the beauty of Wakanda and Talokan in the comfort of their homes.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.

Source: Disney+

January 3, 2023